Shadow of Crisis
by Squall67584
Summary: [Wutai War 7 years before FF7] When a young Sephiroth and his Squad uncover a secret plot that could tip the war into Wutai's favor, will they be able to stop the plot before it is too late? PreNibelhiem Sephiroth and several original characters.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first story on this web site, so I'm still struggling through the inner workings of the system here. So this story here, _Shadow of Crisis_, came about while me and a few friends were talking about the rumored remake of Final Fantasy VII for the PS3. After some thought, I said that I would rather see a game where you could play as Sephiroth and rise to the level of fame that he had before the game. And a few months later, I finished this story. Technically the story is complete, I finished typing it out last month (December), and will now start to post it. I'll try and keep up the regular interval of posting about every Tuesday and Thursday, weather permitting :) So, without further useless rambling, I present you my first Final Fantasy fanfic!

* * *

Chapter I

_He was running hard and yet was running in place. His breathing was heavy and labored, as if the air was too thin to quench the thirst of his lungs. He tried to swallow, but he was only granted the tight ripping pain of dryness. He took the chance to look behind him, to see the Thing that was pursuing him. The sight sent a dark chill that made the sweat all over his body freeze in horror. The Thing was formless, yet had a shape, cloaked in a shadow of black fog. The sight was distant and yet was gaining with every agonizing moment. The only feature he knew that the Thing had was one red glowing eye. The enveloping shadow was growing nearer and would soon over take him. With a last ditch of effort to escape the unknown fiend, he let out a cry of desperation._

Quickly he sat up in bed, at last escaping the nightmare that had been chasing him. His body was covered in a layer of sweat that was now cold against the air blowing out from the air conditioning vent in the ceiling. Lightly, Sephiroth shook away the remnant of the nightmare and ran his hand through his long silver hair. The digital clock on the small nightstand showed that it was five minutes before six in the morning. He stood up and walked to the shaded window of his room. Quickly he pulled the cord for the blinds and took in the sight.

Below him, the cold gray steel of Midgar was colored a slight green from the glow of the Mako reactors, mixed with an orange hue from the rising sun in the east. From the window on the 48th floor of building C of the Shinra Complex, Sephiroth looked up and saw the large bulking form of the main Shinra Tower. Across the complex was the other twin building, building B, both of which resembled rounded nodes compared to the taller Shinra Tower. Building C held the main offices for SOLDIER and also served as their quarters when not on assignment. Building C also held the offices for the Turks, but Sephiroth did not pay them much mind.

Building B was somewhat of a mystery to him, all he knew was that Hojo had his secondary research facilities there, and the mere fact that the despicable so-called scientist could possibly be there at any moment made Sephiroth never want to pursue the mystery of that building.

Sephiroth turned around and paced the length of his room. He hated being here, especially when he could be out there on the front. The war with Wutai had been going on for nearly eleven years now and the end was still no where in sight. During the first few years of the war, the front line had moved from the edge of the Wutai Continent nearly to Costa Del Sol until the Shinra army was able to push the Wutai forces all the way back onto their own continent, but that's where the advance had stopped. For nearly five years, the line had only shifted a few miles if even that. The Wutai forces had control of the intricate mountains and canyons of their continent and were able to keep any attacking Shinra force at bay. A direct attack at Wutai by sea was impossible due to their guardian Leviathan that constantly guarded their borders. It was common knowledge that the Leviathan was a summon from materia, but no one could discern how they were able to make it stay indefinitely.

Of course Sephiroth knew that he could devise a plan to invade and even win this war, but the top brass of the Shinra military would never listen. Besides, they thought that their plans were much better and less flawed, but of course they could not lead themselves out of a wet paper bag. So, Sephiroth was relegated to leading his squad, consisting of three other members of SOLDIER, on raids that had no real meaning or strategic worth. Even so, he had made a name for himself, but he did not care about that. He merely wanted to fight, and that was what he truly excelled at.

Needless to say, Sephiroth was both surprised and annoyed when he and his squad were called back from the front. They were told that they were on leave, but Sephiroth knew the Shinra better than that. Whatever they had planned for him, he hopped it was worthy of his talents and his time.

With a sigh he stopped his pacing and headed for his shower. But just as he turned the water on, an alarm sounded in the hallway that echoed throughout the entire building. He quickly turned the water off, pulled on his long black coat, secured his mythril pauldrons, and grabbed his katana blade. Outside in the corridor, the alarm klaxon was much louder and red lights were flashing their urgent message. People were running around as if they had never been in a situation before in their lives. Sephiroth lightly sneered at their inexperience and stopped a young Shinra MP who was running by him.

"What's going on?" he asked the MP.

"It's a security breach, floor 62 of the main building!" the MP barked out as he saluted the SOLDIER First Class. Sephiroth nodded to the MP, who then continued on his way. As Sephiroth made his way to the nearest sky bridge that would take him to the main building, he wondered why someone would want to break into the Library. For files, presumably, but of what importance they could be he did not know. All he knew was that there was now some action that he could get involved with, and that brought a devilish smile to his face.

When he reached the end of the sky bridge, another SOLDIER member was fumbling with the access keypad that would open the doors to the main building. Sephiroth smirked to himself and raised his eyebrow as he watched the SOLDIER trying to remember the code.

"It's MAKO," Sephiroth said, making the other man jump and turn around. When he saw that it was his captain, he quickly saluted. Sephiroth brushed the salute away and put in the code himself.

"Honestly Bakusa, sometimes I think you would forget your head if it wasn't attached to you." Bakusa shrugged and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"I would have remembered it eventually," he said as he fell in step next to Sephiroth.

"Hm. That's why your still a Second Class," Sephiroth said dryly as he found the main elevator that would take them up to the 59th floor. The ride was quick, and when they entered the 59th floor Bakusa began to run for the main glass elevator, but Sephiroth's words made him stop and follow his squad captain.

"Those elevators are shut down during a security alert. We'll use the stairs." Sephiroth quickly climbed the stairwell, taking two and sometimes three stairs at once. The actions would have fatigued a normal man, but the adrenaline was now pumping full force through his veins causing him to pay little heed to any fatigue he may have been experiencing.

When they reached the 62nd floor, they quickly ran out to see several security guards and MPs sweeping the area. One of the guards looked up, quickly saluted, and said that the perpetrators had gone up. Sephiroth grinned, and quickly began to climb the stairs again. Above them, he could begin to hear the sounds of faint gunfire, increasing with every step he climbed. When they reached the 67th floor, the door was open and the gunfire could be heard coming from inside.

Sephiroth made a quick motion for Bakusa to keep up and he entered the research specimen containment floor. He was about to round a corner, when his instincts made him pull back just as the body of an MP flew and hit the wall with a dull thud. The unconscious MP slumped on the floor while letting out a defeated sigh. Sephiroth turned to Bakusa, who readied his metal knuckled gloves, and nodded.

In unison, both members of SOLDIER burst into the main containment area and saw pandemonium. On the far side of the chamber, what appeared to be a person wearing all black was running towards the specimen elevator. But between them and the perpetrator were over fifteen of Professor Hojo's research specimens, newly freed from their cages. The rapid staccato of gunfire made Sephiroth look to his left and saw the other member of his squad, Locke, crouched behind a crate firing away with his twin pistols at the ravenous horde of creatures. Locke looked up for a moment and briefly stopped his assault to speak.

"It's about time you got here!" With a quick nod from his captain, Locke stood up on the crate and provided covering fire for the other members of the squad. Quickly Sephiroth jumped out into the middle of the horde and began to swing his blade with deadly precision. Bakusa jumped onto one of the larger fiends and pummeled it to the ground with his ferocious punches. When the creature fell, he jumped off, flipped in the air, and landed in a crouched position. He jumped up to fight another creature, but he found that they were all dead.

"Oh come on man, leave some for us to kill!" Bakusa said as he shook his head. Sephiroth looked over at him for a moment and then looked to Locke without saying a word.

"That ninja broke open the cages when I started to fire at him. I would have got him if these things didn't start to attack so quickly."

"It doesn't matter," Sephiroth said as he began to run for the specimen elevator, the others quickly behind him. "If he keeps going up he's going to run out of floors pretty soon." On the 68th floor, they found several workers knocked unconscious or standing dumbfounded. One found the energy to point towards the stairs and motioned that he went up. Sephiroth quickly brushed past the man and lunged himself up the stairs.

On the 69th floor, the reception area for the President's office, they caught a glimpse of the ninja running up the purple carpeted stairs to the President's office. Sephiroth ran after him, making a sign for the others to take the other flight of stairs to trap the ninja thief on the top floor. Sephiroth had to quickly duck to avoid a shuriken that was meant for his head as he came into the 70th floor. He sneered and charged the ninja, who by now had realized that he had missed and was running towards the door that led out to the helicopter pad.

Sephiroth paused at the door and waited for the other members of his squad to get there before rushing through the door. They charged the helicopter pad area and saw the ninja looking over the ledge. Sephiroth let a grin come to his face as he realized that the ninja had no where to go.

"You're trapped. Do yourself a favor and give up easily. Otherwise, I can't promise you will have a pretty end," Sephiroth said as he held his sword at the ready, with the blade directly pointed at the ninja. Bakusa stood to Sephiroth's right, both of his fists at the ready. Locke was on the other side, both of his pistols aimed directly at the ninja.

The ninja turned around and took one step forward and then stopped. He tilted his head as if he was thinking of something, but what that something was Sephiroth had no idea. Quickly, with a speed rivaling that of a member of SOLDIER, the ninja performed a back flip over the ledge. Before he passed beyond sight though, his left hand began to glow a bright red, and he threw his hand out towards the squad. With a quick poof of red light, a large gray cat creature with a long tentacle on the back of its head appeared and growled intensely.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow in bewilderment but brushed aside his confusion as the creature began to attack. As the creature lunged towards the three, both Locke and Bakusa jumped to either side while Sephiroth jumped over the beast. The creature skidded to a stop and turned back around. Sephiroth landed and turned to charge the beast and found that the creature was lunging right at him. Quickly Sephiroth stepped to the side as the creature passed by him by only a few millimeters. Sephiroth raised his katana to swing down at the creature but it jumped out of the way with just enough time to spare.

Locke tried to aim at the creature but its quick movements all around Sephiroth never gave him a clear shot, nor did he want to run the risk of shooting his captain. The creature dodged another one of Sephiroth's swings, but this time Sephiroth was ready for the movement. When the creature avoided his blade, he brought up his boot and kicked it hard in the stomach, making the creature fly towards the glass wall of the building. The creature was able to hit the wall with his paws, and recovered itself enough to make another attack. But the distance was all that Sephiroth needed to plan his next move.

Sephiroth placed his blade at his side and lunged at the creature with all his strength. The creature jumped off of its footing against the glass wall and was readying its claws for the attack. Sephiroth let out a smirk as he quickly brought up his blade in a lightning fast move that plunged his blade into the center line of the beast. With a quick chilling snap, the creature fell to the helipad in two separate pieces before it dissolved into red mist. The blow was so powerful that it not only severed the beast in two, but it broke the blade of Sephiroth's katana, sending the shards flying into the air.

Sephiroth looked at the hilt of his now useless sword and frowned in displeasure. Bakusa ran over to the edge of the helipad and looked over the ledge. He came back and shook his head.

"I don't see that ninja anywhere." Sephiroth nodded and started to make his way back into the building.

"Then there's nothing left for us to do. Let the Turks clean up the mess." Locke and Bakusa fell in step behind Sephiroth and started to talk about what they just saw.

"What do you think that thing was? I've never seen a summon like that before," Bakusa said as he scratched his head.

"Neither have I. I don't know what that was," Locke said as he placed his twin pistols in their holsters on his thighs.

"It was a Guard Hound, sometimes called a Storm Beast. I've never seen one that was gray though, or a summon," Sephiroth said as he opened the door and stepped in. Inside the Presidential office, President Shinra was all ready behind his desk. He quickly looked up to Sephiroth and began to walk determinately over to him, pointing at him with his freshly lit cigar.

"Just what the hell is going on?!? I want a full report now!" Sephiroth raised both of his brows and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I heard an alarm sound so I came up here to find what looked like a ninja releasing the research specimens from their cages. After that, the ninja came up here and jumped off of the ledge." In a moment of silence, the President puffed on his cigar and blew the smoke into Sephiroth's face. The SOLDIER stood there unflinching, though a hundred ideas were coming into his mind. When the smoke cleared, Sephiroth looked into the eyes of the President and shot daggers right into the mind of the President. President Shinra blinked, loosing the battle of wills, and turned back to head to his desk.

"Well if that's all you know, then get out of my office." Sephiroth lightly nodded as a smirk came across his face, and then turned to leave the office. Locke and Bakusa gave each other a brief look of triumph and followed their squad captain out of the office.

President Shinra scowled as he watched the SOLDIERs leave his office. How dare that silver haired freak show insubordination to him? After all, he was President of nearly the entire world! In disgust, he threw his cigar into his crystal ashtray and hit the button for his secretary.

"Yes Mr. President?"

"Diana, get the heads of the departments into the conference room for the morning meeting."

"Yes Sir." Shinra sat back in his leather chair and lit another cigar. As he let the smoke roll off his tongue, he wondered just who it was who had tried to break into Shinra Inc. Within the hour, he knew he was going to get to the bottom of this, otherwise heads would roll.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So I know that I said I'd update every Tuesday and Thursday, but I have nothing else to do on this chilly Monday, so I'm going to post chapter 2. After re-reading chapter 1, I noticed that it's seems a might bit short, and in all honestly, it and chapter 2 were originally one chapter unto themselves, but since it would have been twice as long as all the others I split it into two. There hasn't been any reviews yet, but hopefully they'll start coming in with this or the next chapter (hint).

Oh, and on a side note, I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or any of it's charactors. There, I said it.

* * *

Chapter II

As they stepped through the door from the main building into the sky bridge, Locke and Bakusa jumped forward at a slight run to catch up with Sephiroth, who was walking with a determined speed. Bakusa looked over to his captain, and saw that his face was just as plutonic as usual, so it was hard for him to tell if he was in a bad mood or not. Locke, on the other hand, was much better at reading their captain's emotional state and broke the silence that hung over them since leaving the President's office.

"What are you going to do about a weapon?" Locke asked while trying to start a conversation. Sephiroth shrugged slightly, making his mythril pauldrons rise and clink back down on his shoulders.

"Luckily I placed another order with the weapon smith. It should be ready today." Locke nodded and they continued on in their silent path. Bakusa could not stand the silence any longer, and tried to think of something intelligent to say.

"So what do you think that guy broke in here for? He looked like a ninja to me, maybe he was from Wutai." Sephiroth stopped walking at the entrance to building C and looked over at Bakusa with a raised eyebrow. Bakusa tried to smile, and scratched the back of his head as he tried to see if he said something that he should not have. Sephiroth broke his gaze and let out a light laugh at the characteristic simplicity of his lieutenant.

"Well, considering Wutai is the only nation that has ninjas, it stands to reason that he was from Wutai. But don't worry about why he broke in here, that's an internal security matter now." Sephiroth looked out into the center room of the floor, the large circular lounge area for members of SOLDIER where several were sitting around, and nodded in its general direction. "I'm going to take a shower. Take a break in the lounge, but don't go far. I have a feeling that we'll be getting new orders soon." Without waiting for a confirmation, he walked off towards his room.

Bakusa turned to Locke, who was now leaning with his back against the wall with crossed arms. "Do you think he's mad at me?"

"No, if anything I'd say he's mad at breaking his sword. I'd hate to be Cinna when he comes in to get his new weapon."

* * *

The ninja jumped onto the fiftieth roof since jumping off of the Shinra Tower and risked a brief look behind him. Search lights were brushing over the still dark surface of the building looking for any sign that he was still there. The morning sun was just now coming over the horizon, but the light was only reaching the upper reaches of the Shinra Tower. The complex was still in the phase of waking up for the morning. The ninja let a smile come across his face at their stupidity. If he had another five minutes, he could disappear forever, only leaving a mere shadow of his presence. But he knew that more time was not a luxury that he had. Any moment the encoded communicator built into his forearm guard would activate, and the Leader would want a full report.

Quickly the ninja found a shaded area under a ledge from a higher window and opened the file that he had pilfered from the Shinra Library. As he skimmed over the document, his mind wandered and he cursed himself for setting off the simple security system. He should not have been so careless as to think that the Shinra would not place a security device on the file of their greatest soldier. The light on his communicator came on, so he placed the file down and opened the channel.

"Yes Leader!" he said quietly into the microphone.

"Did you get the file?" the Leader said.

"Yes Leader! It was quite a hassle, but I was able to-"

"What does it say?" the Leader said cutting him off.

"Let me see, it says he joined SOLDIER when he was twelve, rose through the ranks, and became a First class at the age of fifteen. It documents some of his missions in detail, but nothing else." There was a long pause before the Leader responded.

"That's it? Does it detail his Mako infusion?"

"No Leader. Should it?" After another pause, the Leader gave his last order and cut the transmission.

"Destroy the file." The ninja turned off the communicator and was about to stand up, when suddenly the cold steel barrel of a gun was pressed at the back of his head. The ninja slightly turned enough to see his assassin from the corner of his eye. The man was wearing a dark blue suit and was tall with slicked back black hair and what looked like a jewel between his eyes on his forehead. The man smiled and spoke the last words the ninja would ever hear.

"I'll be taking that back." Before the ninja could even comprehend what he had heard, his brains became a decorative coating on the roofing tiles.

* * *

Loran Bina stepped out of the elevator of Shinra building C and looked around with wondrous Mako infused eyes. Although she had been carrying two duffel bags filled with her belongings, the excitement at knowing she had accomplished one of her life goals made her not notice their substantial weight. It had taken her nearly four years, but she was finally a member of SOLDIER. A Third class, but a full member none the less.

She stepped into the large lounge area and saw several other members of SOLDIER talking to each other, a few reading over books to help them get ready for the advancement exams. She had just been given her new orders and had to report to her new squad leader, but she really did not know where to find him. Of course she had heard of him; there was no one who was even remotely involved with Shinra who had never heard of Sephiroth. She had been both shocked and ecstatic when she found out that she would be in his squad.

But of course, she had to find him to officially join his squad. She looked around and could not see a directory, but then again why would there be one. She bit her lower lip as she thought about what she should do, and then saw two SOLDIERs talking to each other near a door way.

One of them had light orange hair that was combed forward. He was talking very loudly and was flamboyantly throwing his arms into the air to enhance what he was saying. The other was leaning on a rounded support post. This one had black hair that was slicked back and was chewing on a toothpick. She noticed that he also had two pistols strapped to his thighs in a quick draw system. She decided that they would be just as good as any other to ask, so she hefted the weight of her duffle bags and walked over to them.

"Yeah, you should have seen this one beastie that was trying to jump onto the boss's back. Luckily I was there to give him the ol' one two, you know, and basically saved his life." The orange haired one started to reenact the beating he said he gave the creature by throwing a few punches at the air. The other man raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Well I was there, and I don't remember any creature trying to jump on his back. If I recall he took most of them out in just a few moves."

"Well of course you don't remember the one that was trying to jump on him; I took it out before you must have seen it." The toothpick man shook his head and started to laugh when he noticed Loran standing there, smiling as if it was the greatest day in her life.

"Hi! What's going on?" she asked spunkily. Toothpick raised his brow and was about to answer when Orange cut him off and jumped between him and Loran. He raised one brow and leaned his arm on the support column in an attempt to look casual.

"Hey, what's going on?" Loran raised her eyebrow in confusion as she was answered with the same question she asked. He must have noticed, so he tried to recover as quickly as he could. "Uhm, how you doin'?" Loran was still confused, but decided to just continue on with her question.

"Fine, I guess-"

"You come around here often?" Orange said cutting her off, this time he gave her a wink. Although she was even more confused than before, she answered.

"Well, no. I'm new here and I'm looking for-"

"The man of your dreams? Well look no further sweetheart," Orange said as he rubbed his knuckles on his uniform tunic. Loran's eyes opened in shock at what he was saying and was about to just walk away when Toothpick pulled Orange away and shook his head.

"You'll have to forgive Bakusa here; he's not the brightest reactor in Midgar." Bakusa looked hurt, but Locke continued on. "My name's Locke. Who're you looking for?" Loran smiled and thanked the Planet that someone was finally helping her.

"My name's Loran. I'm looking for Sephiroth, I'm to report to him and join his squad." She smiled as she was proud of announcing the fact that she was going to be part of Sephiroth's squad. Both Locke and Bakusa exchanged a glance and then looked back to Loran.

"Well, he should be back pretty soon. We're the other members of his squad," Locke said as he moved a finger between himself and Bakusa. Loran nodded at Locke, but when she looked at Bakusa, she had to force a smile. Bakusa sighed and scratched the back of his head as the uncomfortable situation did not seem to be coming to an end. Luckily the silence was broken by someone behind them.

"Did you embarrass yourself in front of another girl again Bakusa?" All three turned around and saw Sephiroth standing there with a smirk on his face, wearing the usual black leather coat with the mythril pauldrons, but this time his hair was still visibly damp. Loran's eyes opened as widely as they could and her jaw dropped as she saw the legendary Sephiroth. The smirk disappeared as he shifted his gaze from Bakusa and looked at Loran. He looked at her for a moment and sized her up from head to toe.

She was about the average height for a young woman. She had dark brown hair that she had pulled back into a pony tail, but some of her bangs hung down over her forehead. Her eyes were a pale shade of violet, glowing with the signature of Mako. He noticed that she did not wear the standard SOLDIER pauldrons on either shoulder but instead wore the uncommon long sleeved version of the uniform, but had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. On either side of her belt, she had what looked like short swords in their scabbards.

When the silence went on for as long as he could stand, Sephiroth raised a brow and asked her a question. "Is there something I can help you with?" She broke from her dumbfounded state and dropped one of her duffle bags and made a quick salute. With the same hand she handed him her papers.

"Sir! I'm Loran Bina, SOLDIER Third class, reporting for duty sir!" Sephiroth lightly nodded and took her papers and briefly looked them over. For a moment he wondered if this girl had really been assigned to his unit or if it was some sort of joke, but when he saw the official seal of SOLDIER on her documents, he knew that it was for real. As he handed her back her papers he motioned to Locke and Bakusa.

"Welcome aboard. I see you've all ready met Locke and Bakusa, the other members of my squad. I've been without a third member to the squad since Edgar was lost two months ago. It's about time they sent a replacement." Sephiroth noticed that Loran was now shifting uncomfortably at learning that she was a replacement for someone else. It really did not matter that Edgar had been a replacement for someone else and had died on his very first mission. That fact would still probably make the young woman just as nervous. Sephiroth brushed the thought aside and decided to change the subject.

"As you're new to SOLDIER I'll give you the tour of the complex. You two, take her bags and find which room Command has given her." Both Locke and Bakusa gave a quick salute and took her bags away. Sephiroth saw Bakusa turn to look at Loran one more time before he passed from view. Sephiroth let out a sigh and shook his head. When he turned to Loran, he found her staring at him with wondrous eyes. It annoyed him when the newer members looked at him like that, but after several years of it, he was used to it. Even Locke and Bakusa used to do the same thing, but apparently the novelty must have worn off. He started to walk and noticed that she was not following him. He turned and motioned with his head for her to follow. Quickly she realized her mistake and fell in step beside him.

"This is the SOLDIER lounge. This is where normal members of SOLDIER spend their time when not on assignment or training. You won't get to know it very well since you're in my squad. We tend to be on assignment more than others." Loran nodded and followed Sephiroth down a corridor.

She noticed that he did not talk much and she herself was too nervous to try to start a conversation. She did notice that wherever he walked, the people in the corridor stepped to the side and looked at him with a sense of awe. She smiled and walked tall when their gaze would shift from him to her and the looks of envy could easily be seen on their faces.

Sephiroth stopped at a set of security doors and typed in the code. When the doors opened, he motioned Loran in and followed behind her. The room was a dull blue much like the rest of the building. What appeared to be large filing cabinets were stationed through out the room with enough space so that one could walk between the rows. Loran tried to look down the rows and saw that the room was nearly ten meters deep. Sephiroth stepped in front of her and led the way to one of the storage lockers.

"This is the materia storage facility. Normally Third class members aren't allowed materia unless their mission demands it, but being in my squad can have its advantages," Sephiroth said as he opened one of the drawers. Loran looked in and saw rows of neatly placed materia orbs in Styrofoam padding. Each row had a name card in the front to tell what it was. She stepped closer to remove one of the orbs, but the quick sound of a drawer closing behind her made her jump instead. She turned to see a young man wearing a lab coat who was looking at her with disdain.

"Hello," she said trying to get over the shock of the noise. The young man lightly nodded and walked towards the back of the room. Sephiroth shook his head and looked to Loran.

"Don't mind him; all of these scientists are strange." She lightly nodded and tried to see where the scientist went.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Dr. Kramer. He's Hojo's assistant." Sephiroth turned to the materia orbs and picked up a handful and handed them to Loran. "Take these standard elemental materias. They're of a low level, but once you get more experience they'll become stronger." Loran took the five orbs, noting that they were fire, ice, lightning, earth, and restore. Sephiroth closed the drawer and was about to lead them out when Loran asked a question.

"So how do these actually make magic possible?" she asked. Sephiroth turned to her and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's long and complicated, but basically the mysterious power of magic comes from the planet in some way." He was about to turn to leave the room when he heard an all too familiar, and despised, voice coming from the back of the room. He did not want to turn around but he knew that if he did not, the despicable man would just follow him until he did. With a look of utter disgust, he turned around and saw Professor Hojo walking up to him in the annoying waddle that he always did.

"No, no, no, young man. You should never use such an unscientific term as 'mysterious power'. And for the record, you shouldn't even use the term magic! It's unscientific! To be precise, the materia allows you to call upon the knowledge of the Ancients, which then interacts with yourself allowing you to call upon their power." Sephiroth let out a sigh of boredom and made sure that the professor was quite done with himself. At that, Hojo shook with anger at the insolence he had shown him, which made Sephiroth somewhat enjoy the miserable conversation.

"Whatever," Sephiroth said as he turned his back on Hojo. "Next I'll show you the armory." Loran stood there for a moment, watching Sephiroth walk out of the storage facility while Hojo stormed off back towards the other end of the room where a telephone was ringing incipiently. As she left, she heard the professor say that he would be right there and he slammed the phone down. She quickened her pace and caught up with Sephiroth, who was now lightly laughing to himself.

"Who was that?" she asked as she placed the materia orbs into her pants pocket.

"That was Professor Hojo, head of Shinra's Science Department. He tries to be a scientist but he's nothing more than a confused little man trying to fill the shoes of a great scientist. The only thing Hojo is good at is infusing Mako into people." Loran lightly nodded and decided to drop the issue since Sephiroth seemed to be getting angry discussing the professor.

After taking a few more turns in the corridor, they entered a set of doors, this time with no security password. The reason was obvious, because in this room there were weapons all over the walls with different people trying out a weapon that they thought would suit them. A few of them stopped what they were doing to look at Sephiroth, but a sharp look from him sent them back to what they were doing.

At a counter was a man who had a dark tan and wore his hair in a single ponytail at the top of his head. He saw Sephiroth coming and reached under the counter for a package.

"Just finished it this morning. It's called a Murasame. It's got two sets of linked materia slots and a single," the man said as he placed the box on the counter. Sephiroth opened it and pulled out a long blade in the Wutai style, about 127 centimeters long. Quickly Sephiroth swung it in the air to get a feel for it. The man behind the counter smiled, but Sephiroth did not return the gesture.

"So, what do you think?" the man asked.

"It could still be longer," Sephiroth said matter-of-factly. The man shrugged and shook his head before he spoke.

"I know you want it longer, but that's as long as I can make it using the materials at hand. The only metal that I know of that's stronger than the mythril-steel alloy I used would be astro-ore, but good luck finding any of that."

"Why do you say that?" Sephiroth asked.

"Because it's not natural to this Planet. The core of asteroids and such are made out of it. The thing is, so little of it is even known to exist that I could barely make a dagger, let alone a big ol' sword like you want," the weapon maker said as he crossed his arms and shook his head. Sephiroth nodded and motioned to Loran.

"Loran, this is Cinna, the weapon smith. If you need a new weapon, he can usually make it," he said, putting a sarcastic tone in the word 'usually'.

"Yeah, yeah, real funny. Now what kind of weapon you got now?" Cinna asked Loran. Loran pulled out her two short swords and showed them to Cinna. He looked over them and shook his head in disapproval.

"Well these are good training tools, but you're going to need something stronger if you're going to keep up with this guy," Cinna said as he motioned to Sephiroth. "I've got these that should do the trick." Cinna walked over to one of his display walls and pulled off two crisp and clean short swords. Loran took them and held them in her hands.

"They have a nice balance," she said as she spun them around her hands.

"Of course they do, I made them after all. And if you notice, they each have two joined slots for materia, which I'm sure will come in handy when working with this guy." Loran smiled and placed her two new swords into the scabbards on her hips. Cinna blushed from her smile and tried to hide his embarrassment. Sephiroth just rolled his eyes and began to walk out of the room. Loran waved good bye and followed him out of the room. As Sephiroth stepped out of the room, he called back to Cinna.

"This new sword had better not break like the last one; otherwise I'll hold you personally responsible."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter III is now here!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, otherwise I'd be rich.

* * *

Chapter III

President Shinra threw open the doors to the Executive Conference room on the 66th floor of the Shinra Tower. As he steamed to his seat at the head of the table, the six executives stood from their chairs and wished him a good morning. Shinra glared at them and took his seat.

"Just what's good about this morning?!? The first thing I hear is a damned security alarm going off! Now just what in the hell do you have to say about it?!?" The six other members sitting at the table diverted their gaze and fumbled through their papers looking for something to end the seemingly endless anger of their President.

President Shinra smashed his cigar into his ash tray and looked from one member to the next. On his right sat Palmer, the chubby and constant sweating bulk of a man who was the head of the Shinra Space Development Department. Sitting on Palmer's right was Heidegger, the large bearded uniform clad head of the Public Safety Maintenance Department, which was a glorified name for the military. On the other side of Heidegger was Reeve, the head of Urban Development. On Reeve's right was Veld, the head of the Turks, Shinra Inc.'s personal security force. Opposite Reeve at the table was Professor Hojo, the repulsive and enigmatic head of the Science Department. On his right, and quite far away from Hojo as the seating arrangement could allow, was Scarlet, the head of Weapons Development. On her right was an empty chair, which once President Shinra's eyes fell on it, a vein popped out on his temple in anger. As if he was right on queue, Rufus Shinra, the President's son and Vice President of Shinra Inc., came walking in and sat down as if the entire world revolved around him.

"Good of you to show up," the President said as his son took his seat. Rufus was going to say something back, but then stopped himself from starting yet another father-son argument. After President Shinra was done staring at him, he turned his attention back to the assembled executives.

"Now I don't want excuses, I want answers! I want to know exactly how in the hell some ninja, or anyone for that matter, broke into my building and just what the hell they stole!" President Shinra yelled, slamming his fist on the table to emphasize his point. Veld was the one who finally spoke up.

"Sir, the alarm was set off on the 62nd floor, the Public Preservation and Weapon Development library." The President sat back down slowly and thought about what the head of the Turks had just said.

"Gya ha ha ha-" Heidegger began to laugh, but the icy glare from everyone else at the table made him stop.

"This is not something to laugh at!" the President yelled. "Do you have any idea what some of those files could do if they fell into the wrong hands?!? The total control of Shinra Inc. could be shaken! Just what the hell did they steal from that library?" Veld was about to answer, when a young man dressed in a dark blue suit came into the conference room and walked straight to Veld, the young man's boss. The young man bent over and whispered into Veld's ear and handed him a file. Veld nodded and the young man left the conference room. Veld lightly looked over the file and smirked. President Shinra could no longer stand not knowing what it was and held his hand out for the file. Once Veld handed the file over, President Shinra looked over the file briefly, let out a sigh of relief, and tossed the file onto the table.

"Well that's a relief. But let that be a lesson to you all; next time we won't be so lucky so I want security measures kicked up, or it'll be your asses!" Rufus did not know what the file contained, nor did he understand why his father's mood could drastically change because of it. To satisfy his curiosity, he reached forward and took the file and opened it. The name on the front page was all he had to see: Sephiroth.

"How is this a relief?!?" Rufus said as he sat forward in shock and bewilderment. "This is Sephiroth's case file! Surely you realize what kind of damage could be done if the public found out about the Jenova Project?!? We could contain it, sure, but the added stress would be detrimental to the war efforts!" Everyone except for Hojo and Veld looked at the President waiting for his response. Rufus was right; if the public learned about the Jenova Project and the true nature of SOLDIER, they would not only have to be fighting a war on the Wutai front but another right here in Midgar. But instead of looking concerned, the President merely leaned back in his chair and lit another cigar. When it was lit, he puffed out a mouthful of smoke and started to laugh in his deep tone.

"Ha ha ha! Come now my boy, if you ever want to take over this company, you're going to have to stop being so naïve. One of the golden rules for staying on the top: If you have documents proving something that you don't want people to know about, you destroy them, pure and simple." President Shinra smiled wickedly and then continued. "And once the SOLDIER project was initiated over fourteen years ago, all files of the Jenova Project were destroyed. Isn't that right Hojo?" Professor Hojo quickly looked up as if he were lost in his own thoughts and adjusted his thick glasses.

"Oh, yes, of course," Hojo said and went back into his own disturbed world. President Shinra smiled and placed the cigar in his mouth in triumph. Rufus shook his head in disdain and tossed the file over the table to Veld, then sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, defeated once more by his father.

"And there you have it. That file there is nothing more than his personal service record once he joined SOLDIER. Nothing special when compared to other service records. Veld," the President said as he shifted his focus to the Turk. "I want a full investigation into this break in. I want to know how they got in here, and I want it fixed." Veld nodded, and that was all that was needed from the Turk to guarantee that the job would be done. The President was about to dismiss the meeting when the intercom went off. Shinra leaned forward and flipped the switch on.

"Mr. President, there's a Captain Mortis here for his appointment."

"Good, I'll be right there," he said and then turned the intercom off. He looked up to the executives and stood from his chair. "This meeting's over with."

Once he left the room, the members stood to leave as well. As he walked in his usual stooped waddle, Hojo began to think about what the President had said and laughed to himself. As far as the President was concerned, all the files were destroyed. But the President had since long forgotten about the old laboratory in the basement of a mansion in a far away hamlet.

"As if I would destroy all records of one of my greatest achievements! That would be a travesty indeed," he muttered to himself as he entered the stairwell to return to his main research lab one floor up.

"Eh? Did you say something?" Hojo turned around and saw the fat bearded form of Heidegger, and shook his head.

"Nothing at all," Hojo said and continued on. Heidegger twisted his head in confusion and then did the only thing he knew how to do in situations like this.

"Gya ha ha ha!"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter 4 is kind of short, so I'm going to go ahead and post chapter 5 as well today.

* * *

Chapter IV

Loran stared into the practice chamber through the bullet proof glass and was amazed. Locke and Bakusa were also watching on, but what they were seeing was nothing new to them. Inside, Sephiroth was testing his new blade against a large robotic creation from the Weapons Department.

The robot was nearly four meters tall, with four large spider like legs and two twin gatling guns. As the robot tried to focus on Sephiroth for a deadly salvo of lead, Sephiroth continued to move away from its optical sensor by jumping from one side of the room to the next. The machine had a near unlimited supply of ammunition, so it was continuously firing, sending molten lead bouncing all over the chamber. When Sephiroth came near the glass where his squad members were watching, Loran caught a glimpse of what could have possibly been a smile of delight.

She looked away to think for a moment, and then asked her new squad mates a question. "Are the stories about him true?" Locke and Bakusa exchanged a glance and then shrugged their shoulders.

"I guess that depends on what story you've heard," Locke said.

"Yea, that's right. I remember hearing one once that said he could shoot fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from a place you wouldn't normally expect it," Bakusa said as he remembered the particular tall tale.

"Technically he can use fire and lightning, but it's only materia. Most of the stories you hear are over exaggerated, but the truth is he's much stronger than anyone else I've ever seen. If I were to bet on it, my gil would be on the side that says he's the strongest man alive, but then again I wouldn't win much on that one," Locke said as he shifted his focus onto their captain in the chamber. Loran nodded and she too looked back into the chamber just in time to see Sephiroth lunge at the machine and sever it into two. He then turned the blade over in his hand to where the blade went behind him and walked out of the chamber.

"So what do you think of the new sword Seph?" Bakusa asked. Sephiroth looked at Bakusa and sneered slightly. Bakusa saw the look and quickly coughed trying to hide his mistake. "Ugh, uh, -iroth?" Sephiroth broke his gaze and shrugged his shoulders.

"It could be longer, but it'll serve its purpose. It is better than the last one." They were about to all start to make their way back to the SOLDIER lounge, but a young MP came up and quickly saluted. Sephiroth waved the salute away and looked at the MP with annoyed eyes.

"Sir, President Shinra wants you and your squad to report to his office immediately, sir," the MP said with a hint of nervousness. Sephiroth nodded and then began to head towards the President's office. Loran, Locke, and Bakusa fell into line behind him, each exchanging glances with each other wondering what the President would want to see all of them for.

When they reached the 70th floor of the Shinra Tower, Sephiroth led his squad into the large office of President Shinra. Instantly, Sephiroth saw the large form of a man that he had never seen before standing off to the left of the President's desk. The man was roughly the same height as himself, but was much broader, especially in the chest. Sephiroth estimated his age to be at about forty; the thinning midnight blue hair that was pulled back into a pony tail also had wisps of gray. He had a dark complexion as if he spent much of his time in the sun and the leathery look of his skin proved that. His left eye was closed, possibly permanently, because a large scar that ran the length of his face ran over the eye. He appeared to be wearing a black vest, but the green cloak he had clasped on his right shoulder hid most of his upper body. On his shoulders he wore two brightly polished pauldrons with large polished brass rivets protruding out in a style that was popular with some members of SOLDIER.

President Shinra stood from his desk and walked around it to address them all at once.

"As I'm sure that you are all aware of by now, you were pulled back from the front not for R&R, but for a very delicate mission where your special talents are required. Newly acquired intelligence has reported seeing a Wutai troop transport on the north east side of Mideel Island. We need you to go there and investigate the matter. If you find evidence of a Wutai attack force being assembled there, you are to take them out. I don't have to stress the importance of this mission to you. If Wutai were to be able to attack us on our eastern side, they could easily push deep into the continent, and that's something that we simply can not have. Now, accompanying you on this mission will be Captain Mortis," the President motioned towards the enormous man standing in the corner, "recently reinstated into SOLDIER. He has invaluable knowledge of the island area and will be highly effective if a Wutai force is discovered. Now, are there any questions?" Sephiroth lightly looked over Mortis and then focused on the President.

"No," was all he said. Shinra nodded and made his way back around his desk.

"Well then you're dismissed," he said as he sat back down in his leather chair. Sephiroth and his squad saluted and then turned to leave the office. Mortis did the same and caught up with the group in the elevator. As they rode down, Sephiroth looked at the older man and raised an eyebrow.

"I remember reading the name Mortis in one of the old SOLDIER files. You were one of the first members of SOLDIER, am I right?" Sephiroth asked. Mortis turned to face him and nodded his head.

"That's right. That was nearly fourteen years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday." Mortis then glanced at the other members of the group and sighed. "They just keep getting younger and younger." Sephiroth smirked at the comment.

"How old were you when you joined?" Loran asked in her upbeat tone.

"Twenty five. And how old are you?" he asked her.

"Eighteen, but I've been trying to get into the program since I was fourteen." Mortis shook his head and lightly laughed to himself.

"Times change I guess."

* * *

Once they were on the ground floor, the group began to discuss their mission. As they walked towards a private room, Mortis asked Sephiroth about the earlier break in.

"So what do you know about that break in earlier? I heard MPs talking about it as I waited for the President."

"Not much really. The ninja, or at least that's what it looked like, broke into the library. We chased him up to the top floor, but he summoned a guard hound to keep us busy while he escaped. It was strange, because I've never seen a common animal be summoned like that," Sephiroth said as they passed through the security grid system, the guards all were standing at a firm salute as they passed.

"Hmm, I remember seeing that kind of thing years ago. Low level materia that was some way or another fused with the DNA of a common animal. When used it could summon forth the creature. The things weren't very strong and the materia was usually useless. If I recall, Hojo used to experiment with the idea years ago, but I guess he found something else to occupy his crazed mind," Mortis said as Sephiroth opened a door for them to enter. Sephiroth smirked and nodded as Mortis entered the room. Apparently modern day SOLDIERs were not the only ones who disliked Hojo.

"If we're going to leave the city, we're going to have to do it secretively," Mortis said once they were all in the private room and the door was closed.

"Why's that?" Bakusa asked as he tried to figure the reason out for himself.

"Because if that ninja who broke in earlier belonged to Wutai, there could be any number of spies around the city," Locke explained.

"And since we're not exactly a low profile unit, the spies would notice us all leaving at once," Loran said, bringing the logic into the discussion.

"That's why we split up," Sephiroth said. "If we break into two groups, one leave to the north and the other to the south, we might be able to throw off anyone watching."

"Exactly what I was going to suggest," Mortis said. "The only thing left for us to do is choose the groups and pick a location to rendezvous." Sephiroth nodded and looked at the faces of all his squad members. Both Locke and Bakusa were keeping their emotions under control, but Loran was beaming as if she was about to win a prize. He knew that Locke and Bakusa could blend in, possibly giving off the air that they were merely wandering the city; but Loran would stand out like a sore thumb. As far as anyone could tell, Mortis looked much like anyone else and he doubted that any spies would have seen him in the Shinra building since he had only been there for little over an hour. Sephiroth knew, of course, that he himself would be recognized anywhere he went so blending in was a moot point. With that in mind, he chose the grouping.

"Locke, Bakusa, and Mortis; you three head north. Loran, you and me will head south. We'll rendezvous outside of Kalm; there's a short series of cliffs that separate the wasteland from the vegetation, we'll meet there. You'll get there first since we'll have to go nearly around the city, so I'm afraid your going to have to wait for some time. If something comes up, use the PHS to contact me."

"How're we getting there? We're not going to have to walk are we?" Bakusa asked, the hint of complaint all ready evident in his voice.

"You're in SOLDIER, you should be used to walking by now," Mortis said as he rolled his eye at the young SOLDIER. Sephiroth smirked at the thought of those two stuck together for several hours. As amusing as it would be to him to make Bakusa walk the distance, he knew that time was of the essence.

"We'll take two of the vehicles that the Shinra keep in the parking garage. Let's move, we don't have time to waste," Sephiroth said as he then led the way to the parking garage. Once there, Mortis, Locke, and Bakusa chose a small panel van. As they drove off, Loran waved at them with bright enthusiasm. She then looked to Sephiroth and smiled.

"So which car are we going to take? The convertible?" she asked hopefully. Sephiroth raised his brow and lightly shook his head.

"No, I was thinking of something a little less obvious."

As they entered the bland gray pick up truck, Loran stuck out her tongue in disapproval at his choice of vehicle. It did not bother Sephiroth none as he saw it merely as a mode to get from point A to point B. As they drove off, Loran looked behind them and waved good bye to the convertible.

"I really liked the convertible," she said more to herself. Sephiroth looked over to her and then shook his head in annoyance.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

While Sephiroth drove, Loran sat slumped over, leaning on her right arm while she stared out the window at the bland wasteland that surrounded Midgar. They had left the city nearly thirty minutes ago and were no where near passing the center section of the city on their voyage north. At this rate, they would take nearly another forty minutes or more to reach Kalm.

In her boredom, she started to fill her mouth with air and then would make a popping sound as she let the air out. Once that was done, she started the whole annoying process over again. After about the thirtieth time, Sephiroth's grip on the steering wheel became like steel. If it were not for his leather gloves, his knuckles would visibly be white. When he could not stand the annoying popping sound any longer, he took his eyes off of the road and glared at her.

"Do you have to keep doing that?" he said in an annoyed voice. Loran snapped out of her trance and looked at him. She could see that he was angry, so she shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile at him.

"Sorry, I just get bored easy." Sephiroth shook his head and then reached down to turn on the radio. With a static pop, the station came on. Whatever song had been playing was coming to an end and then the signature fanfare of Shinra Inc.'s propaganda ads came on at a volume much louder than normal.

"_Citizens, unite! Come to the light; Mako Energy. Power is Truth, Shinra is the future. Your real happiness can be found in obeying the Company!"_

Sephiroth let out a disgusted grumble and turned the radio down. They continued on in silence through the wasteland, silently listening to the Shinra approved music. Loran began to sway her head to the music and tapped her hand on her thigh to the beat. Sephiroth found this to be nearly as annoying as the popping, but he could live with it. As annoying as she was, he did find something enjoyable about her presence. What it was he could not discern, but perhaps it was just her "newness" in the group that brought something that was lacking from the other two members of his squad.

Once the song was over, Loran looked at him and broke the silence between them.

"So when did you join SOLDIER?" Sephiroth looked over at her from the corner of his eye and took a moment to respond.

"I joined when I was twelve," he said quickly, not giving any other information.

"When you were twelve? Wow, that means you've been in SOLDIER for what, ten years?"

"Actually, it's been nine years." Loran nodded and looked out her window again before asking another question.

"So your parents didn't care about you going away at such a young age?" Sephiroth took in a breath in annoyance and shook his head.

"I wouldn't really know, I never knew my parents," he said, hoping that she would not ask another question, but he could not be that lucky.

"Aw, you never knew your parents? That's soooo sad! Don't worry, we're here for ya!" she said as she jumped across the bench seat and grabbed his right arm in a hug. He recoiled in shock and jerked the truck off of the road. He quickly pushed her off of him and then brought the truck back onto the road in a swerving fishtail. Once the truck was firmly back on the road, he shot Loran an angry look with his vivid green eyes. She shrank her head into her shoulders and tried to smile.

"Sorry," she said quietly. Sephiroth kept his gaze up for another moment and then looked back to the road. The rest of their drive was filled with an uncomfortable silence; however Loran did not tap to the music nor make the popping sound, so Sephiroth was at least thankful for that.

* * *

About three miles outside of Kalm near a series of cliffs, Mortis, Locke, and Bakusa were sitting around their panel van. They had been waiting here for nearly an hour, but they knew that Sephiroth and Loran would be there soon. Locke had taken the time to check over his guns while sitting in the passenger side of the van. He had the door open and was sitting halfway inside the van. Bakusa was standing along the cliff wall, shadow boxing with himself. Mortis was standing on top of the van using his binoculars to see if he could catch a glimpse of the approaching truck. After a few minutes of watching a dust trail in the distance, he jumped down.

"You see them?" Locke asked. Mortis nodded his head and placed the binoculars back in the van. He closed the sliding door and then leaned against the van.

"So how long have you guys known Sephiroth?" Mortis asked, trying to pass the time. Locke looked up from the disassembled gun in his lap and twirled the toothpick in his mouth as he thought.

"I've been with him for two years."

"Only one for me," Bakusa said as he gave a body punch to his shadow. Mortis nodded and then kicked a rock with his foot.

"So I guess you guys know him pretty well then?" Locke placed the slide back onto the frame and cocked the pistol quickly.

"I guess you could say that. He doesn't really talk about himself too much."

"Yea, and he only gets pissed off when you ask him about anything," Bakusa added.

"He ever mention his family?" Mortis asked.

"No, that's the one topic that he really gets mad at. In the two years I've been with him, he's only mentioned his mother's name, Jenova. She died while giving birth to him though. I don't think he knows who his father was," Locke said as he twirled the other pistol on his trigger finger.

"So he never knew his parents?" Mortis asked.

"Pretty much. As far as we can tell, he was raised by Shinra. I guess they wanted to train him from an early age to be a SOLDIER. I guess it worked," Bakusa added as he gave his shadow a rapid combo.

"So that's where his strength comes from?"

"I guess so. I've never really thought about it like that," Locke said as he twirled both pistols and then put them back into their holsters. Mortis was about to ask something else, but the trail of dust in the distance was getting closer. Bakusa looked away from his shadow and saw the truck approaching.

"Well, looks like they're here," he said as he rolled his shoulder to get the tension out. All three of them walked up and waited as the truck came to a stop. Loran jumped out and waved to the three with a big smile on her face. Sephiroth stepped out and slammed the door. Mortis walked up to him and lightly nodded.

"How was the drive?" Mortis asked with the hint of a smile on his face. Sephiroth looked over to Loran, who was now looking at him, and then looked back to Mortis. Sephiroth shrugged his shoulders and then shook his head.

"Could have been better, the only thing on the radio was approved Shinra music." Mortis nodded with a smirk and then looked to the rest of the group.

"So where to now? After all, you're the leader of this group." Sephiroth leaned on the hood of the truck and lightly waved his hand towards Mortis.

"From here it's up to you. After all, you're the one with the knowledge of the islands. I assume you have a way of getting to them?" Sephiroth asked with a smirk. Mortis nodded and motioned towards the panel van.

"I know a guy in a fishing village about fifty clicks away from here. We can take his fishing boat to the island. We should all take the van, from here on out we can move in one unit." Sephiroth stood up and nodded his approval.

"All right. Everyone in the van. Mortis, you drive."

"I call shotgun!" Loran yelled out as she jumped into the passenger seat. Locke was about to protest, but Sephiroth shook his head.

"Let her have it. Trust me, she's even more annoying when she doesn't get her way." Locke nodded reluctantly and then climbed into the back of the van. Bakusa jumped into the back as well before Sephiroth climbed in and slammed the door shut.

Locke took a seat along the sidewall and Bakusa stretched out along the bench seat in the back. Sephiroth was pleased to see that the van had a partition wall separating the cargo area from the front seat. He sat down on the floorboard and leaned against the partition. He was about to try and get some sleep when suddenly the little window slid open and Loran's head was sticking through the window.

"Hey guys! How's the room back there?" Sephiroth waved her question away with his hand and leaned his head against the sliding door. Locke shrugged and leaned back in his seat, all the while spinning the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other. Bakusa winked at Loran and answered her question.

"It's nice and roomy back here. You sure you want to ride shotgun?" The smirk was quickly wiped off of his face when Sephiroth flung a piece of materia at him, hitting him square in the forehead. "OWW! That hurt man! Materia's not soft you know!" Sephiroth just smirked and continued to try to go to sleep. Loran looked down at her silent squad leader and smiled her thanks. With a jerk the van began to move, so she pulled her head out of the window and sat back in her seat.

Once Mortis shifted the van into fourth gear, he reached back and closed the sliding window. He looked over at Loran, who was sitting on her hands as she watched the now green grass covered fields pass by.

"So you're new to SOLDIER right?" he asked her.

"Yup. It's been one of my life long goals to get into SOLDIER," she said as she beamed like she always did when she talked about her favorite subject; herself.

"You've always wanted to be in SOLDIER?"

"Well, at least since I was fourteen. I heard a story about Sephiroth and I wanted to meet him. The best way to do that was to join up, so here I am." Mortis nodded and put the van into overdrive.

"Well now you've met him. So what do you think?" Mortis asked as he smiled at her. Loran shrugged her shoulders and watched a wild chocobo run away from the street as they passed.

"Well, I heard that he was a cold guy. You know, one that doesn't really talk much and when he does its short and to the point. Honestly I've only known him for about three hours now, but I can say that there's definitely more to him than just a cold exterior. I think with time, anyone could probably get him to talk a lot more." Mortis raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He had heard many stories about Sephiroth as well. More stories that were probably closer to the truth than she had ever heard. Stories about his brutal efficiency in battle, stories about his deadly prowess with his blade. A man like that usually kept to himself, the only thing he had to gain about letting people in was to gain a weakness. The time may come when he would have to give an order that may mean sending that person to certain death. It was something that all leaders had to face, and Mortis knew that dark reality all too well.

"So what about you? Why did you join SOLDIER?" Loran asked the older man. Mortis shook his head and laughed at the question, something that he had not thought about for some time.

"Honestly, I can't remember anymore. The program was new at the time. I guess if it was anything, it was probably a want to be better than anybody else. The program was really selective back then. If you were chosen, it basically said you were better than about 95 of the army. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the reason for it."

"Yeah," Loran said as she continued to look out her window, "the program sure has changed since then." Mortis looked over at her from the corner of his eye.

"It sure has."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So it's another somewhat sunny Thursday, and that means another chapter! I'm not sure how many times I'm supposed to say this, but I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any of it's charactors.

* * *

Chapter VI

Forty minutes later, the van came to a halt at the dock of a small fishing town. Sephiroth stepped out of the van and saw a sign near the entrance to the town.

"Welcome to Dali: Number 1 Fishing Port on the Central Continent!" Sephiroth wondered if it were true, and a quick glance around made him think that it just might be.

The small town was made up of only a few blocks of houses, but the most noticeable buildings were the large fish markets. Along one street, he counted something near the number of twenty vendors, each having their daily catch displayed on tables. One of the larger features of the town was the parking lot, if one could call it that. Instead of the usual concrete pavement, it was just covered in shells and rocks. Cars from all over were parked there while the people busily shopped from one vendor to the other. Seagulls were flying all around, squawking at each other and swooping in to steal the random errant prawn or discarded fish gut. In the harbor were a countless number of fishing boats; each with their booms tied up and their nets dripping with sea water.

Loran stepped out of the van and wrinkled her nose at the aroma. "Pee yew, it stinks here!" she said as she waved her hand in front of her nose. Locke climbed out of the back of the van and took in a deep breath. He smiled and let out a satisfied sound as he looked around.

"That's the smell of the sea! It's great! It's much better than the stagnant metallic grease smell of Midgar, I'll tell you that much," he said as he made room for Bakusa to climb out of the van.

"Hey I like the smell of Midgar; it's the smell of home," Bakusa said as he punched his friend in the arm. Locke shook his head in disagreement, but before they could continue the conversation, Sephiroth spoke to Mortis.

"So where's this guy you know?" Mortis motioned towards the harbor and started to walk in that direction.

"He moors his boat over here." The group followed Mortis as he made his way down the dock and stopped at a particular boat. Sephiroth gave it a quick once over and wondered at its sea-worthiness. The boat looked as if it would spring a leak at any moment, and not in just one place. The paint was pealing off revealing the salt soaked wood underneath. Barnacles were encrusted all over the lower half of the hull, telling that the boat must have been nearly fifty years old. As the boat swayed in the harbor, the wood creaked and moaned as if to say that it had seen much better days. Sephiroth let out a puff of air at the ridiculous sight.

"Hey Faris! You aboard?" Mortis yelled out. From inside the boat, the sounds of someone rustling about could be heard, and soon the single door to the interior of the boat opened up with a quick kick. A large burly man stepped out, wearing a stained red and white striped shirt and faded oil stained pants. The man's hair was gray and matted down as if he had last washed it when his boat was freshly painted. His skin was dark and like leather showing that he had been in the sun for his entire life. He looked at the group with a questioning look, but once he saw Mortis he dropped the air of suspicion and started to smile widely, showing his cavernous yellow mouth.

"Mortis ye ol' Scallywag, what ye be doin' 'ere?" Mortis stepped onto the rickety boat and clapped his hands onto the sailor's shoulders.

"How've you been Faris? The fishing business going well for you?" Mortis asked his old friend.

"Well ye know, she could be a might bit better, but I'm not a starvin'." Faris looked up at Sephiroth and the others and raised one of his salty brows. "Who be these youngins yer travelin' with?"

"The tall one there is Sephiroth, and the others are Locke, Bakusa, and Loran." At each of their names, they nodded to the sailor. Sephiroth knew what was coming so he diverted his gaze to the open sea.

"Sephiroth ye say. That must make this lot be members of SOLDIER, am I right?"

"That's right," Mortis said as he nodded.

"Well shiver me timbers, I neber would ha' figured ye be werkin' for the Shinra again. So what brings ye here to me _Blue Narciss_?" Faris asked.

"We need a boat and a captain to take us somewhere. I'd say, but you never know who's listening," Mortis said as he glanced over the area. Several dock workers were unloading cargo from a few of the near by ships. None of them seemed to be paying attention, but that did not mean that they were not listening.

"Ah, I see. Well, to be tellin' ye the truth, I'd be more than happy to lend me services, however, I would be out of a days wages, maybe more dependin' on where it be ye lot are wantin' to go." Sephiroth knew what the sailor was getting at. Normally he would just take the ship away from the man and tell him to take it up with the Company; however, since he was an old friend of Mortis, he had to take another route.

"How about this?" Sephiroth said as he tossed Faris a small pouch. Faris caught it out of the air with his left hand and shifted it around. The sound of the coins inside let him know that it was a large amount of gil. Faris briefly opened the draw string and counted something near the figure of five hundred gil. His eyes lit up at the sum and he quickly shoved the pouch into his back pocket.

"Well now, whar can me and me _Blue Narciss_ be a takin' ye?" Faris asked as he made a waving motion with his hand to allow the group onto his boat. Bakusa stepped on and found the motion of the ship to be quite different from solid ground, but he was fine with that. Locke boldly jumped on and was beaming at the chance to be on a boat. Loran stepped on and still kept her nose scrunched up at the smell. Sephiroth stepped on board and leaned his sword against the outer bulkhead. Faris eyed it briefly and let out a grizzled laugh.

"We'll tell you where we want to go once we get off from the dock," Mortis said. Faris nodded and pointed at the riggings.

"How about ye fine strappin' lads make yerselves useful and undo those riggins. We'll be underway shortly." Locke and Sephiroth each went to one of the riggings that were keeping the boat tied to the dock and undid the intricate knots. Once the lines were pulled back and coiled on the deck, the erratically vibrating engine sounded and the boat was away from the dock. As she steamed up the inlet, Loran continued to cover her nose at the strong fishy smell. Sephiroth stood near her and spoke in a low tone.

"You might want to stand near the front. The air there isn't as fowl." Faris turned around from the wheel and shook his head.

"She's not called the front, lad. She's called the bow. And fer the record, that way is port while the other be starboard. The aft section be called the aft, or the stern. Yer choice o' course." Sephiroth lightly nodded just to get the man to look back at where he was piloting the boat. After about ten minutes of chugging along, Faris idled down the motor and called for Mortis to come over.

"So now, whar do ye want me to point the Ol' _Blue Narciss_?" he asked. Mortis and Sephiroth both entered the small wheelhouse and motioned for a map. Faris pulled out the old tattered sea chart and rolled it out over the small table in the center of the wheelhouse. Mortis quickly looked it over and pointed the area out.

"We need to get here, the northern part of this island in the Mideel archipelago," Mortis said. Faris nodded and began to rub his stubble in thought.

"How long do you think it will take?" Sephiroth asked. Faris scratched his filthy head, which made Sephiroth slightly cringe in disgust.

"Well now, let me think. That point be nearly a hundred an' eighty knots away from here. But ye be in luck me sword wieldin' friend. Thar be a current that follows the coast line from here down south. Iffen we get into that, we can add nearly three knots to our speed. Add that with the eight knots the _Narciss_ can do, an' I can have ye thar in fifteen hours." Sephiroth quickly did the math in his head and concluded that Faris's estimate would put them at the island at 0300 in the morning. They could slip in through the cover of night and investigate the island long before anybody knew they were there. It would work out perfectly.

"Good. If you need any manual labor, you can use those two out there," Sephiroth said as he waved a thumb at Locke and Bakusa. Faris nodded and then Sephiroth left the wheelhouse. There, the two old friends began to talk about things that did not interest Sephiroth, so instead he went to the right side, or starboard side as Faris had pointed out, of the boat. The water was a vivid blue and reflected the white clouds above. The air was much fresher here; the old fish smell of the ship was hardly noticeable. Either that or he was getting used to it. At that thought he cringed and looked around the deck for his squad members.

Bakusa was sitting on the edge of the boat on the port side, talking to Locke who was fishing with a line in his hand. Loran was on the bow looking into the water below. The waves were causing the boat to jump slightly in the front, so he went up there to tell her to be careful. He did not know why he was going to tell her that, after all she was a member of SOLDIER and fully capable of taking care of herself, but perhaps it was his natural leader instincts that told him he had to keep an eye on all of his squad members.

"You shouldn't stand so close to the edge," he said as he slightly looked over the railing. Loran looked up and shrugged her shoulders.

"I was watching the dolphins. If you look you can see them jumping along the front of the ship. Oh, the bow of the ship," she corrected herself while making a face that showed she really did not care what it was called. Sephiroth smirked and leaned over the edge to get a better look. He did not see anything and was about to give up when suddenly the large form of a dolphin jumped out of the water and skimmed over the barnacle encrusted hull. Sephiroth was sprayed with the water and stood back from the railing. Loran saw his wet face and laughed. He looked over at her and wiped his face with the back of his gloved hand.

"You don't seem like the regular type of person who would join SOLDIER," Sephiroth said as he watched Loran continue to laugh at him getting wet. When Loran was done laughing, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"What makes you say that?"

"You're more, upbeat, than most," he said as he looked out to the sea. Loran thought about it and joined him at looking at the ocean.

"I've always been kind of like that. Ever since my family moved to Kalm when I was a kid, I've always been full of energy. I don't really know why now that I think about it." Sephiroth continued to look out at the water and enjoyed the fresh breeze on his face. He had always wondered why people would go sailing for fun, but now that he was out on a boat, he finally understood why they did it.

"So what made you want to join SOLDIER?" he asked. Loran was about to say, but realized that he had probably heard the same reason about a thousand times. 'Because I wanted to be like you!' or 'I wanted to fight along side you!' or even 'I just wanted to meet you sir!' She knew that she had annoyed him in the truck ride and did not want to ruin the moment by annoying him again.

"Well, I guess I joined for a lot of reasons, but I guess it was mainly to see the world." Sephiroth nodded and looked down to her.

"You can definitely see the world; however it's usually just to conquer a part of it for Shinra. If that fact doesn't bother you than you might enjoy your time in the program." Loran blinked a few times and then looked him in the eyes.

"Do you mind conquering parts of the world for Shinra?" Sephiroth narrowed his brow in confusion at her question and then looked back out to the sea. After a moment, he shook his head.

"I've never thought about it. I never really put much thought into what Shinra does with the nations it conquered. All I ever really cared about was the fight. Fighting's the only thing I'm good at. The only thing I enjoy."

"That can't be true. There's bound to be something else your good at. Everyone is good at something besides fighting," Loran said as she leaned on the railing. Sephiroth looked back to her with an upraised brow.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Have you ever tried crocheting?" Sephiroth gave her a look of shock and shook his head.

"You can't be serious, can you?" Loran shrugged and tried to think of something else.

"Well there's bound to be something," she said more to herself as she thought. Sephiroth let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Well if you think of anything, let me know. Faris says we'll reach the island at 0300, so make sure you're well rested by then," he said as he walked away from the bow and headed for the stern. Where he had originally stood, Bakusa was now leaning on the railing and was looking like he was in a fowl mood.

"What's wrong with you?" Sephiroth asked as he leaned his back on the wheelhouse's outer bulkhead. Bakusa pointed his thumb behind him in the general direction of Locke.

"Oh Locke thinks he's such a great fisherman. Says he can't catch a fish with me constantly talking to him. What does he know." Sephiroth raised his brow and answered the question.

"Maybe he knows something about fishing, maybe he doesn't. I think he just wants to enjoy the quiet for a change." Bakusa spat into the sea and turned around to rest his elbows on the railing. Sephiroth smirked at the fact that Bakusa did not notice the insult he had just given him.

"If you ask me it's too quiet out here. Give me the hustle and bustle of Midgar any day," Bakusa said as he looked around with dissatisfaction. Sephiroth knew that Bakusa was a rare breed, one who actually liked the crowdedness of Midgar. After all he was from the slums, picked up by the Turks for his skill at fighting.

"Don't you feel the same way as me? Ain't Midgar your home boss?" Bakusa asked. Sephiroth lightly laughed and shook his head.

"There are a lot of things that I consider Midgar, but one of them definitely isn't home. True, it's about the closest thing I've ever had to one, but that's not saying much." Bakusa knew that Sephiroth did not have a family or anything close to one to speak of, so it was understandable that he would have no emotional attachment to the large metropolis. Bakusa shifted his weight to his right elbow and saw Loran leaning over the railing watching the dolphins. He thought she looked sort of comical wearing the baggy pants of the SOLDIER uniform, but he still found her devastatingly attractive.

"So boss, what do you think of Loran?" Bakusa asked as he kept his eyes on her. Sephiroth stood away from the bulkhead and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? Do I think she's a good fighter? I wouldn't know, I haven't seen her fight yet." Bakusa laughed and looked at his captain.

"No, that's not what I mean, boss. I'm asking if you think she's cute. I think so," he said as he smiled and looked in her direction again. Sephiroth sighed and began to walk away.

"ETA for our destination is 0300. Be ready," was all he said before he went to the other side of the boat. Bakusa stifled a laugh at his captain's expense and told himself he had to remember the topic for another time when he wanted to fluster him.

Sephiroth left the irritating Bakusa and went to tell Locke about their arrival time. Locke was still sitting on the railing holding his fishing line in his hand. He looked up when Sephiroth approached and gave him a nod.

"You catch anything?" Sephiroth asked as he looked over the edge. Locke shrugged and took the toothpick out of his mouth long enough to speak.

"I had a nibble a few minutes ago. They should start biting now that spring-jaw's not here to scare all the fish away." Sephiroth smirked at the appropriate nick name and took in another breath of the fresh sea breeze. Locke noticed and did the same.

"I love the smell of the sea. Don't get much of a chance to experience it in Midgar," Locke said as he placed his toothpick back in his mouth. Sephiroth remembered that Locke was from Junon originally.

"That's right, you came from Junon. It used to be a fishing town before right?" he asked Locke. Locke nodded forlornly as he remembered the old stories of what Junon was like.

"Yeah. Back in my father's day, it used to be a busy fishing port probably like Dali. But, of course once the Shinra came into the picture, the industry disappeared. My dad was never the same after they took away his favorite pier. He just became like all the other old timers and hung around the local bar trading stories about the one that got away. I could never see myself ending up like that, so I tried to get as far away from it as possible." Sephiroth looked at Locke and nodded.

"And that's why you joined SOLDIER?" he asked. Locke nodded and was about to speak when suddenly he jerked forward as a fish took his line.

He pulled hard on the line but the fish pulled back. Locke took on a look of determination and jerked hard on the line and started to pull the fish in. Sephiroth looked out into the water and could see a silhouette of a massive fish twisting and turning as Locke pulled it in. When the fish was just below the surface, Locke leaned over the side to get a better look.

The fish looked strange. It seemed to have a strange lump on it's back that he had never seen on any type of fish before. When he tried to pull it in closer for a better look, he soon found out what the strange lump was. A large gapping mouth, full of razor sharp teeth, opened and jumped out of the water at him. Locke instinctively drew back and before the fish had a chance to try again, he pulled his pistol and put a round into it's head.

Sephiroth let out a dry laugh as everyone else on the boat came over to see what the commotion was. When Faris looked over the side, he let out a hoarse laugh and slapped Locke on the back.

"Aye, ye did good kid. Ye caught a chimera fish. The scallywag's got two mouths, though I not be sure which it eats with. All I be knowin' is that thems are good eats. Drag her aboard. We'll be eatin' good tonight I reckon. Lassy, are ye a good cook?" he asked Loran. She put her hands on her hips and gave Faris a dirty look.

"Do you think that just because I'm a girl that I'm a good cook?" Faris laughed and shrugged his grizzled shoulders.

"Well, I guess it be wrong o' me to assume. Ye have me pardons lass." Loran nodded and then smiled.

"Well you're forgiven. And yes, I think I'm a pretty good cook." Faris let out a ravenous laugh and threw the massive fish over his shoulder.

"Well follow me lass, I'll be a showin' ye the galley."

Once Faris and Loran entered the small door that led down into the small internal cabins of the boat, the others went back to doing their previous duties. Locke decided not to throw the line again, so he coiled it up and put it where he found it. Bakusa went back to the starboard railing and leaned on it as he thought about nothing in particular, a feat that was not out of his grasp. Mortis went back into the wheel house and looked over the sea chart. Sephiroth, having nothing else to do, entered the wheelhouse to speak with Mortis. The old SOLDIER looked up and gave Sephiroth a light nod.

"So where do you know Faris from?" Sephiroth asked. Mortis lightly smiled as he remembered something from his past and looked at Sephiroth with his one eye.

"I ran into him years ago back in my old SOLDIER days. He wasn't always the salty old sailor you see today." Sephiroth could not envision Faris being anything other than the way he was now and decided to drop the thought.

"So why did you leave SOLDIER?" he asked as he looked down at the sea chart. Mortis sighed and looked out to the sea.

"I guess there were many reasons really, but the main one was that I just got plain sick and tired of taking orders without knowing the true reason they wanted me to do them. Don't you get tired of taking orders?" Sephiroth shrugged and looked at Mortis, who was still focusing on the sea.

"At times, but taking orders is part of being a SOLDIER." Sephiroth left the sea chart and joined Mortis by looking out at the blue waves cresting in the distance. A thought came to his mind, so he voiced it. "So if you were tired of taking orders, why did you come back?"

Mortis let a smile come to his face and he turned his head to glance at Sephiroth. After a moment, he shrugged and looked back out at the water.

"This war's been going on for nearly ten years now, and there still isn't really an end in sight. Too many people have died needlessly. I guess you could say I rejoined to help bring an end to this thing. The war has to end, one way or the other." Sephiroth looked over at the old SOLDIER and could see that the war was having a profound effect on Mortis. Sephiroth himself had never thought about it in that way, and even now, he did not see the point of thinking that way.

"True, many people have died. But if it wasn't for the war, I wouldn't have anything to do." Mortis looked over at him and let out a short laugh.

"Don't sell yourself short kid. There's plenty to do in a world like this that doesn't involve war, you just have to be exposed to it." Sephiroth did not believe that there was something else that he could be good at other than fighting. He thought it was strange that both Mortis and Loran were trying to tell him the same thing. As he watched the waves on the horizon, he began to wonder if they were seeing something that he did not. Could he actually be good at something other than fighting? Was there something else in this world that he was destined to do?


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Here's Tuesday and yet another update! Thanks to those who have left a review, and if you haven't, well, shame on you then!

Disclosure: I am not SE, so I don't own their characters or games, but I wish I did...

* * *

Chapter VII

The atmosphere was much more somber than it had been a few hours before. Their stomachs now full from the surprisingly well cooked fish, the only thing they had to look forward to was finally getting down to the job. Sephiroth stood on the bow of the boat, eyeing the long thin island that they were now headed towards. Although the sky was now a deep shade of blue and stars were spread above like a thick blanket, the silhouette of the rising island and its single mountain were visible to the naked eye.

The _Blue Narciss_ was now idling her engine to save on the noise and was being propelled more by the tides than her engine. Soon they would have to lower the small paddle equipped boat and row themselves to the shore. Loran was standing beside him with both of her palms resting on her short sword hilts. Bakusa and Locke were situated behind them, and Mortis was in the wheelhouse with Faris.

When the engine to the boat cut out, the sound of the waves gently lapping on the hull of the _Narciss_ were the only sounds that were heard. Sephiroth turned around and spoke quietly, though he sounded like he was shouting compared to the absolute silence that surrounded them.

"Everyone get ready. We're rowing the rest of the way." Mortis came out of the wheel house and helped the others lower the small boat into the water. He held it steady while everyone got in, and then handed the rope off to Faris and got onto the boat. Faris tossed the rope to Bakusa and then gave a somber wave of good luck. Locke and Bakusa begrudgingly started to row the boat towards the island while Sephiroth looked forward to see if there was any movement.

After ten minutes of rowing, Sephiroth lightly jumped off of the boat and pulled it ashore. They all hid it under some palm fronds and silently moved inland. Quickly the brush became rather thick and the possibility of moving through it silently was totally lost. Still, they moved on in silence, not wanting the possibility of their voices being overheard to jeopardize the mission.

After some time of navigating the dense foliage, the distant flicker of flames could be seen. Sephiroth gave the sign to move slower and they approached the area. From ten feet back in the brush, they could see a clearing at the foot of the lone mountain. On the mountain side they could see an opening just large enough for a man to pass through. On each side of this opening, lit torches were stuck in the ground. Standing beside the cave entrance were two sentries, wearing a black uniform much like that of the ninja they had fought in the Shinra Tower. However, unlike the ninja from the Tower, these were holding assault rifles at the ready.

As they watched, several other ninjas approached carrying small boxes of tools and passed into the cave. Sephiroth waited a few minutes before looking away from the clearing to consult his squad. Locke took his toothpick out of his mouth and made a motion with it towards the clearing.

"Looks to be the same get up as that other ninja," he said in a low whisper. "What do you think they're doing here?" Sephiroth took another look into the clearing and turned back to his group.

"I have no idea," he whispered truthfully. "But I don't think there're many of them. Still, I don't think we should charge in there. We need to get past these sentry guards. Bakusa, sneak around through the brush and get ready to ambush the guard on the far side. I'll take the guard on this side. Wait for my signal." Bakusa nodded and silently began to make his way through the brush. Sephiroth nodded to the rest of his squad and moved through the brush with the precision of a snake. When he reached the area that was closest to the guard, he waited until he saw the form of Bakusa in the brush on the opposite side. Before he gave the sign to move in, Bakusa made to crouch into a position where he could pounce in, but he did not take the time to see if he was standing on a twig, which gave a loud crack when he placed his weight on it.

The two sentries turned and aimed their guns into the brush. With a sneer, Sephiroth jumped forward and severed the head of the nearest ninja and was about to swing his sword hard into the midsection of the other, but he stopped when he saw the quivering short sword that was now protruding from his forehead. He turned towards the area where the other members of his squad were located and saw Loran standing with her arm still extended from her throw. Bakusa stepped out of the brush and made a face to show that he was sorry for the twig. Sephiroth gave him a quick glare and waved the others forward. Silently they came out of the brush and Loran retrieved her short sword.

"Nice throw," Sephiroth whispered with a smirk. She smiled and let a light giggle of satisfaction come forward. He then turned to the rest of his squad and nodded.

"There's no telling how many are in here, so keep your eyes open." When they all nodded, Sephiroth led the way into the cave.

The first thing he noticed was that the cave floor was covered with sand. The interior of the cave was shaped like a dome, possibly carved out by the oceans when the island was once under the sea. Inside the cave were five other ninja members; two of them were opening a black case while two more were trying to look for a hold on what appeared to be a large blue crystal. The fifth ninja was a female and seemed to be overseeing the operation. None of them were facing the cave opening so they could not see the group entering behind them.

Sephiroth glanced around and knew that he had the upper hand. He could have easily given the order to eliminate them all, but he did not see any fun in that. Instead, he wanted to know exactly what they were doing.

"What exactly are five ninjas doing in a cave so far away from Wutai?" Sephiroth said, so loud that it echoed in the cave. All five of the ninjas quickly turned around and pulled their weapons. The female leader's look of shock turned to one of anger when she saw the silver haired warrior.

"What's a Shinra dog like you doing so far away from your pin?" the female ninja said, her voice dripping with hatred. Sephiroth smirked and raised his Murasame. The ninja returned the smirk and waved her hand forward. Sephiroth had seen the blue light forming a millisecond before the ice attack had formed, so he easily dispatched it with a quick snap of his blade.

With that one attack, the other ninjas sprang forward. Quickly Locke had jumped to the side and pelted one to death with a hail of gunfire. Bakusa had lunged at one that was running towards him and pummeled his fists into the ninja's midsection, then followed up with a neck breaking upper cut. Mortis had batted one away from him with the shaft of his spear and then quickly drove the serrated blade through the ninja's heart, pinning him to the cave wall. Loran parried a slash from a ninja's sword and knocked the blade back with a blow from her other sword. While the ninja was disorientated, she spun around and stabbed her other blade into the midsection of the ninja, causing the lifeless body to fall over on itself.

Sephiroth had jumped towards the ninja leader and tried to swing at her head, but she dodged the attack and flipped back behind the large blue crystal. There she gave another evil grin and pulled a necklace from around her neck and clutched it. Sephiroth could just make out the red orb of a Summon materia on the necklace. As she clutched the orb, she lifted up into the air and began to glow with a fierce red light. Sephiroth was about to attack her again, but the strange light made him stay back defensively. The light soon enveloped her and with a blinding flash, she was replaced with the blue glowing form of a female Summon.

Sephiroth widened his eyes in shock as he stared at Shiva, who had seemingly just replaced the ninja he was fighting. Shiva's countenance took on a look of extreme rage and she lunged out at Sephiroth. He had little time to get over the shock of seeing the Summon replace the ninja and was barely able to avoid her quick kick. She then turned around in mid air, and formed a large ice crystal which she flung in his direction. Sephiroth swung his blade and shattered the crystal sending shards of razor sharp ice all over the cave.

Shiva snarled and charged him again, but this time he was ready. When she was just about to connect with her attack, he flipped over her. When he landed, he quickly used his fire materia and launched a massive ball of fire at the ice creature. The blast hit Shiva head on and stunned her. Sephiroth seized the moment and lunged forth, running his blade clear through her midsection.

When the blow connected, Shiva let out a blood curdling scream and slumped over. Sephiroth withdrew the blade, but kept it at the ready in case the creature readied another attack. However, Shiva only slumped onto the floor and began to fade into red mist that rolled away from the body. When the body had dissipated, the beaten form of the ninja was all that remained.

Sephiroth stood up then and lowered his blade. The other members of his squad came up and looked down at the ninja, and then looked to Sephiroth.

"Just what in the hell was that?" Bakusa asked as he scratched his head.

"It was the Summon Shiva," Sephiroth said as he looked to Bakusa with a look of exasperation. Bakusa shook his head and restated his question.

"I know that, but I've never seen a Summon replace the person who called it." Sephiroth agreed with a nod. Mortis pulled his spear out of the body of the ninja he had pinned to the wall and spoke.

"I've heard about this tactic before. It's an old form of summoning not practiced by most, called Transmogrification. Instead of just calling the creature forth like we do today, the user actually transforms themselves into the creature by merging with the materia."

"Why would someone want to do that?" Locke asked.

"By doing that, you make the creature stronger than it normally would be. The drawback is that you loose all control of the creature and yourself. If the creature is defeated, you yourself are defeated. It was for that reason that the practice was forgotten, but apparently these people remember it." Sephiroth looked to Mortis and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"If it was forgotten, then how do you know about it?" Mortis laughed and readjusted the cape he kept over his left shoulder.

"I read about it in a book. You do read books, don't you? They're full of useful information," Mortis said as he gave a sarcastic smile. Sephiroth shook his head at the attempted humor and stepped away from the fallen ninja, but the sound of a blade being drawn made him quickly turn back around.

"She's still alive!" Loran yelled out as she grabbed for her swords. Sephiroth pointed the tip of his sword at the ninja, but he did not have to kill her. When the ninja had drawn her tanto blade, she turned it onto herself and committed ritualistic suicide. She gurgled in pain and blood began to trickle down the side of her mouth.

"Forgive me, Leader," she muttered before she fell onto the sand. Sephiroth kept his blade focused on her for a few moments before he relaxed. He turned and surveyed the cave one final time. There was no large amount of supplies anywhere, so he figured that they were not planning on staying here for an extended period of time. In fact, the only thing that they had seemed to be working on was the large blue crystal that was towards the back of the cave.

Sephiroth approached the crystal and looked at it with interest. The crystal was nearly half a meter tall and was half as wide as its height. It glowed with a strange pulsating beat and seemed to be producing a harmonic sound. Sephiroth looked it over for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Looks like a materia crystal to me, just much larger. I guess this is why they were here," he said as he crossed his arms. Mortis came over and after giving the crystal a once over glance, agreed with him.

"I wonder why they would want something like this?" he said. Sephiroth shook his head and looked at the large crate that was beside the crystal.

"We should take it with us. Maybe someone at Shinra can figure out what it is."

"You mean someone like Hojo?" Mortis asked with a hint of sarcasm. Sephiroth let out a laugh and shook his head.

"The day that man can figure something out is the day the world comes to an end. Bakusa, hold the crate open while we put this thing in it." Together, Mortis and Sephiroth lifted the crystal off of the odd crystalline pedestal and placed it in the crate. After making sure the straps were firmly holding the crate closed, he told Bakusa to carry it.

"Oh man, why do I always got to do the hard work?" Sephiroth smirked at him and answered.

"Maybe next time you shouldn't step on a twig and alert the guards." Bakusa sighed in resignation and began to carry the small crate out of the cave. Sephiroth and the others were about to follow, but Locke was checking the bodies of the fallen ninjas.

"Hey guys! Look at these!" he called as he stood up from checking the last ninja. Sephiroth stopped walking and waited for Locke to catch up. In his hands he was holding what looked like round dog tags that he had taken from the ninjas. "They all had these. What do you think they are?" Sephiroth took one and looked at it in the light of one of the torches. It was a rounded amulet of some kind, but unlike a dog tag there was no name on it, just a strange design that looked like a dragon devouring a world.

"Hmm. I think I've seen this symbol before somewhere, but I can't remember. Maybe it was in a book," he said as he gave a sarcastic look back at Mortis. Mortis gave a noncommittal sound and inspected one of the amulets quickly. He gave it back to Locke and started to walk back towards their boat.

"I've never seen anything like that before. We better move out, I can't say for how long Faris will wait for us." Sephiroth nodded and put the amulet into his pocket. He waited for his squad to leave the cave and then took up the rear position. As they walked back through the dense jungle, the design on the amulet continued to bug him. He knew that he had seen it before, but where, and what it meant escaped him.

Once they were back on the _Blue Narciss_, each of them relaxed and went to sleep in the small cabin. There were no beds to speak of, but instead there were hammocks slung from one bulkhead to another. They did not look like much, but they were a welcome comfort after a long day of traveling.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Chapter 8 is here!

* * *

Chapter VIII

The trip back to Midgar had taken nearly thirty six hours, so when they arrived back at the Shinra Tower they had little time before President Shinra demanded to hear their report. Instead of having them assemble in his office on the 70th floor, he had them, along with the Board of Directors, assemble in the Executive conference room on the 66th floor. After giving the report, Professor Hojo began to inspect the large crystal that they had brought with them.

"Hmm, yes. Now I see. The theory is true…" Hojo mumbled to himself as he looked over the crystal from every angle possible.

"What theory is that?" President Shinra asked with annoyance at the idiosyncrasies of the scientist. Hojo looked up for a moment with a look of confusion as if he had forgotten anyone else was even there. He adjusted his glasses on his face and went back to examining the crystal.

"A theory about there being five focal points of Mako energy throughout the world, and at each of these points there would be a mass accumulation of Mako."

"An accumulation like materia?" Reeve asked as he tapped his pen on his chin.

"Exactly. This is indeed one of the five Huge Materias," Hojo said as he continued to take in the sight. Sephiroth let out a quick sharp breath and rolled his eyes at the ingenious name the Professor had given the crystal. Hojo paid no mind and waved his assistant, Dr. Kramer, over and took a clipboard from him and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Quickly Hojo began to scramble notes down on the board.

"One of five? You mean there's more than one of these?" Rufus Shinra asked. His father glanced over at his son and gave him a look of dissatisfaction, but did not say anything.

"Yes, one for each of the five types of materia. This one is obviously the same as support materia. The theory also says that these materia are incredibly powerful, possibly equal to that of eight Mako reactors, though further tests will see if this is true or not." Hojo stood up for a moment and readjusted his glasses. The executives at the table all exchanged a look and then discussed the possibilities of the find.

"Think of the power that five of these things could produce! We could make a weapon so powerful that nothing could stand against us!" Scarlet said as she envisioned the capabilities.

"More than that, think of the amount of energy that we could harvest from these things. If one can put out the amount of power of eight reactors, we could power nearly the entire world!" Reeve said. The President leaned forward in his leather chair and smiled, the thought of getting even richer was making his mouth salivate.

"The profits would be enormous!" Shinra said.

"Yeah! And we could send some of that revenue to the Space Program!" Palmer said as he spilled some of his lard infused tea onto his all ready stained shirt. Sephiroth and the rest of his group were still standing there, listening to the greed coming from the executives. Sephiroth sighed and cleared his throat. The talking amongst the executives ceased long enough for them to look at him.

"You're forgetting one thing; we took this, Huge Materia, from a Wutai squad who was going to take it for themselves. If it's as powerful as you say, then the possibility of Wutai getting their hands on these things is a problem." The executives thought for a moment in silence at his words, but Heidegger broke the tension with his usual method.

"Gya ha ha ha ha! Just like a SOLDIER to be always thinking!"

"He's right," President Shinra said as he ashed his cigar. "If Wutai were to get their hands on more of these, the war could drastically take a change for the worse. Hojo, can you figure out where the other Huge Materias are located?" Hojo looked up from his clipboard and nodded.

"I'll have to consult a few maps and do some calculations, but I'm positive that I can isolate the other regions." President Shinra stood from his chair and nodded to everyone in the room.

"Very good. This meeting is dismissed. Hojo, get to work on those calculations, and you may take this Huge Materia for further study. I want to know exactly how much power we can generate from using these." Hojo lightly nodded and motioned for his assistant to carry the crystal to the lab. The executives all stood and started to make their way out.

In the hallway, Reeve saw Sephiroth holding a round piece of metal. "What's that?" Sephiroth looked up and then handed the amulet to Reeve.

"All the ninjas were wearing one of these. I've seen it before somewhere, but I just can't remember where." Reeve looked at it for a moment, turned it over a few times, and then shrugged his shoulders in resignation.

"I have no idea what that is. You might want to check with the Historian."

"Historian?" Sephiroth asked. Reeve nodded and replied.

"Yeah, he's on the 56th floor. He's a strange old guy, keeps to himself mostly." Sephiroth nodded and Reeve went off towards his office. Sephiroth turned to his group and put the amulet in his pocket.

"Let's go see this Historian. Maybe he'll know what this means." Mortis let out a yawn and shook his head.

"You kids go on without me. Scavenger hunts at my age don't sound like fun to me." Sephiroth nodded and the rest of the group followed him to the elevator. On the 56th floor, they stepped out and looked around at the bustling crowd of Shinra employees.

All floors below the 60th were open to general employees, and the building at these levels encompassed several acres. Every level of the building was much like a city in itself, with small cafeterias, lounges, and chapels of multiple denominations. The Shinra business creed was one of keeping their employees happy, so that they would not be likely to complain.

Sephiroth never did like traveling to these levels of the building; the over crowdedness irritated him. He wanted to leave the level as soon as possible, so he looked at the directory on the wall and saw where the office of the Historian was located. Once he had the mental image of the quickest route, he set off at a brisk walk, not paying any attention to the people he bumped into.

One of the secretaries he bumped dropped her papers and fell to the floor. Sephiroth lightly looked down at her but he continued to walk on. Bakusa, who never let a damsel in distress go unnoticed, helped her to her feet and gathered her papers for her.

Loran quickly caught up with Sephiroth and hit him in the arm. "That wasn't very nice," she said. Sephiroth looked to her and saw that she was genuinely angry with him. He brushed it off by lightly shrugging and continued to the office. Bakusa caught up with Locke and flashed a piece of paper he was holding in his hand.

"Oh yea, got her number," he said as he held his chest up high. Locke shook his head with a laugh. Loran lightly smiled towards Bakusa.

"Good for you," she said, and hoped that it meant that he would leave her alone from now on.

"Don't worry babe, you're still the one for me though," Bakusa said as he gave her a wink. Loran forced a smile and tried to walk faster to get away. Locke laughed again and patted Bakusa on the back.

"I think you should just stop trying man. I don't think you're going to be able to win her over." Bakusa waved the thought off, and looked at the phone number on the paper again. He smiled to himself and put the number in his pocket.

Sephiroth stopped at the door to the Historian's office and opened the door. An old woman sat behind a desk and looked up when he walked in. The others soon entered behind him, Loran still keeping her distance from Bakusa, who was still beaming at getting the young secretary's number.

"May I help you?" the old secretary said. Sephiroth tried to look into the next adjoining office, but the door was closed.

"I'm here to see the Historian," Sephiroth said blandly. The secretary lightly shrugged her sweater covered shoulders and gave the sweet smile of a grandmother.

"Oh, I'm sorry, he just stepped out. If you would have been here five minutes earlier you could've caught him."

"When will he be back?" Sephiroth asked, his nose itching from the strange perfume the woman was wearing.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. He comes and goes. His job's not exactly demanding." Sephiroth grew tired of the conversation and looked for a quick exit.

"Could you tell me which way he went?"

"Sure, he went towards the stairs. He hates riding the elevator down because he thinks its going to fall. I keep telling him that that's absurd, but he never listens." Sephiroth lightly nodded and turned to leave the office. Before he stepped out of the door, he saw a plaque on the wall with a picture of an older man with gray hair and a scarf in place of a regular neck tie. Below the picture were the words "Presented to Professor Loire; PhD of History; Shinra Historian Committee Chairman" and the years from which he had held the title. Sephiroth thought the man looked like an idiot with the scarf, but at least it set him apart from the rest of the regulars who worked in the building.

Sephiroth and the others left the office and made their way to the stairwell. The stairs were bland and gray and held little importance to the maintenance crews of the building. Sephiroth sighed and looked down between the flights of stairs and he could see all the way down to the ground floor. There was little movement, but he could barely make out the form of a person at the bottom of the stairs heading down.

He turned back around and started to head to the elevator. Bakusa was confused and pointed to the stairs. "We're not taking the stairs?" Sephiroth pushed the button for the elevator and turned to look at Bakusa.

"You can take the stairs if you want." Bakusa took another look at the stairwell and walked away. Once they were in the elevator and on the ground floor, Sephiroth stepped out and walked to the receptionist desk. One of the workers looked up with a smile, but once he recognized Sephiroth, his smile turned into a dropped jaw. Before the young man had time to enter the usual hero worship speech, Sephiroth asked about the Professor.

"Did you see an old man with a scarf come out of those stairs?" The young man quickly came back to reality and nodded his head.

"Yes sir, Mr. Sephiroth, sir. He walked out through the Sector 1 exit." Sephiroth pushed away from the counter and made his way to the Sector 1 exit. Once through the automatic glass door, he stopped and looked around. People of all types were busily going about their business. Cars and commercial trucks were driving around and stopping at the traffic lights. In the massive moving crowd, Sephiroth could not make out the form of an old man wearing a scarf.

"Split up and ask if anyone's seen the Professor."

"Why don't we just wait for him to come back to his office?" Locke asked. Sephiroth began to cross a street and spoke over his shoulder.

"I'd rather get this done with now instead of sitting in an office waiting for some old man." Locke shrugged and the rest of the group began to split up to ask people if they had seen him.

Sephiroth stopped at the other side of the street and looked around. The streets of Midgar were a busy place, and if one were not careful, they could easily be robbed by the dregs that come up onto the plate from the slums everyday. The police force tried to contain the criminals, but the people could freely travel from the slums to the upper city if they could afford the train ticket. Shinra tried to keep the riff raff off of the plate by having the intricate security system that scanned individual's ID's, but the problem was that anyone could either steal an ID or fake one. The sensors were not exactly perfect. Sephiroth watched as his group stopped anyone that passed by them, but they all either gave blank stares back or shook their heads no.

Sephiroth started to walk down one of the streets to see if there was someone who was not moving constantly, like a street beggar or a merchant. Information could always be bought from people like those. Normally there would be a beggar at nearly every corner, but today was different. Apparently the police must have had to meet their monthly quota and had rounded up all the vagrants. He stopped his walk at the entrance to an alleyway and let out an agitated sigh.

It was then that he felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle up. He turned around and deep in the alley in the shadows, he could make out the form of two males hassling a lone female. Normally he would not pay any attention to something like this, after all this sort of thing happened all the time in Midgar, but the situation gave him an opportunity to vent some of his frustration.

He silently walked into the alleyway and listened to the two street urchins. "Come on, girly, we're only wantin' a little peek."

"Yeah, it's not like we're askin' ya to come home with us."

"It be easier to just do it here." The two men started to laugh with the sound of two high pitched squeaking rats. The girl recoiled back, but she was pinned against the brick wall and a dumpster. The two punks started to laugh even more and began to move in for the kill. Sephiroth figured that this would be a good time if any, so he smirked and called out to the street filth.

"I think it's past little boy's bed time." The two street punks turned around and snarled at the intruder. They could not make out who it was because Sephiroth had positioned himself in the shadows.

"And just who in the hell are you?"

"Someone who doesn't know how to keep his nose out other people's business," one of the urchins said as he flicked out his pocket knife. Sephiroth began to chuckle in a maniacal fashion and stepped into the light. Both of the faces of the street punks turned to ones of shock and then fear.

"S-Sephiroth! Let's get out of here man!" The one punk dropped his knife and both took off running in the opposite direction. When the punks were gone, the girl let out a sigh and brushed the tension from her dress. She looked up at Sephiroth, and the light reflected in her dark green eyes.

"Thanks mister, Sephiroth was it?" Sephiroth turned around and began to walk away.

"It's past little girl's bed time too," he said as he walked back towards the street. The girl cocked her head in confusion, but let it pass. She was about to head out of the alleyway in the same direction that she had originally intended, but stopped short when she realized that that was the same direction that her would-be attackers had gone. Instead, she decided to follow the silver haired man who had helped her out.

Sephiroth stopped when he was back on the sidewalk and saw Locke coming over to him.

"Sorry boss, but nobody's seen the Professor anywhere." Sephiroth sighed and was about to give up, but the girl from the alley spoke.

"Does the guy you're looking for have gray hair and wears a scarf instead of a neck tie?" Sephiroth turned around and saw the girl for the first time in the light. She was short, about the same height as Loran, but she was much younger. If he had to guess, she was probably about fifteen years old. On her left arm she was carrying a basket that held a wide variety of flowers. Sephiroth thought it was odd that she would have flowers in a city like Midgar, where he thought that plants could not grow. He raised a brow in question to the girl and spoke.

"Have you seen him? Which way did he go?" he asked her. The girl made a face as if she were trying to remember something that she had forgotten and lightly held up the basket of flowers in a nonchalant manner.

"Hmm, let me think. I vaguely recall seeing a man like that, but after that incident in the alley, I can't really remember. Maybe if someone were to buy a flower I could remember..." Locke raised both of his eyebrows and looked at Sephiroth to see what he would do. Normally this sort of thing always made him mad, so Locke was wanting to see how he would deal with the situation. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and glared at the girl for a moment, but she just continued to keep the same look of false confusion. Sephiroth broke his gaze and let out a light sound of resignation. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded bill, put it in her basket and took one of the violet flowers. The girl instantly changed her look and smiled from ear to ear.

"Thanks! He went to the train station after he bought a dozen flowers. He always does that every Friday now that I think about it." Sephiroth nodded his thanks and began to walk across the street where the rest of his squad was waiting. As he and Locke walked away, the flower girl looked at the bill. Her eyes opened wide and she called out to them.

"Hey, this is a hundred gil note! The flowers only cost a gil!" Sephiroth looked over his shoulder and lightly waved with his hand in a dismissing motion.

"Take the rest of the day off, and get yourself a weapon." The girl nodded and smiled, then walked off.

When Sephiroth and Locke reached the others, Sephiroth motioned to the train station and they all followed. When he reached the ticket counter, he asked the man if he had seen the Professor.

"Yes sir, he bought a ticket to the lower Sector 6 district." Sephiroth smirked at the politically correct term of 'lower' instead of the word 'slum' that everyone else knew it as. He nodded and then made his way to the next train destined for the Sector 6 slums. They did not have to purchase a ticket because their SOLDIER status gave them free use of the trains. Another perk to being a member of the program.

The back car of the train was usually reserved for the seedier people of society, but even they moved away when Sephiroth and his group took up residence. Loran knelt on the seat and stared out the window as the train began to move. Sephiroth had ridden the train more times than he could count, so the sight was nothing new to him. He took a seat and stretched out his arms across the seat. Locke leaned on one of the poles while Bakusa leaned back on a seat. Sephiroth looked at the flower and spun it between his index finger and thumb. The fragrance was a welcome change in comparison to the grease smell of the train, but it was still something that he thought was a luxury. Loran, who was still squatting on the seat and looking out of the window, saw the flower in his hand. Sephiroth saw her look at the flower and handed it to her.

"Here. I don't have a use for something like this." Loran took it and smiled.

"Thanks!" she said before she took in a whiff of the intoxicating aroma. Bakusa saw Sephiroth hand her the flower and quickly hit Locke on the leg and pointed at the other two. Sephiroth saw the gesture and crossed his arms as he closed his eyes. Bakusa and Locke exchanged a smile and stifled the laughter that was coming up on them.

The train soon passed under a few bridges and began to enter the long tunnel system that coiled its way along the main support of Midgar, which was over a mile wide. The train spiraled around the massive support structure several times and then passed through a tunnel that brought the train onto the ground level.

After making a stop in every sector, the train stopped at Sector 6. Sephiroth and his group made their way off of the train and looked around at the massive piles of debris and junk that littered the ground. Loran, who had placed the flower behind her ear, looked around in shock and could hardly believe the sight.

"Oh wow. I'd heard stories, but I never thought it would look so… cluttered," she said as she tried to find the word she was looking for. Bakusa stepped off of the platform and shrugged.

"Watch what you say about the slums. They may be a mess, but they were home to me for fifteen years." Loran looked embarrassed and tried to apologize, but Bakusa waived it off with his hand. Sephiroth stepped off of the platform and looked around. The people who had exited the train were all making their way towards the shacks and hovels that they called home. He did not know where the Professor could have gone from here.

"Does the Professor live here?" Loran asked as she looked around. Locke shook his head and leaned on a lamp post.

"I doubt it. Professors make a pretty decent wage. I'm sure he lives up on the plate." Sephiroth nodded and started to walk into the sector.

"Then if he doesn't live here, he came here for something. And the only place in the slums where someone would go to get something would be the Wall Market."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Chapter 9 is here!

* * *

Chapter IX

Sephiroth stared at the multitude of multicolored neon bulbs that blinked and pulsed in a displeasing manner as they spelled out the names to the hundreds of shops. People of all types, mainly the usual slum gang members with their multi zippered leather jackets and oddly colored hair, walked about either shopping or hustling. A solicitor was busily waving his hands as he stood on a soap box, trying to get people to stay in the crummy inn that he worked for. The smell was something indescribable, a mix of rotting garbage and a sickly sweet perfume at the same time. The offense to the senses was giving Sephiroth a headache so he squinted his eyes and pressed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

Loran put her hands on her hips and looked around at the mass of people. "So where did the Professor go from here?" Bakusa shrugged and gave his two cents.

"I guess we should find out what the Professor wanted, then we could figure out where he went." Sephiroth looked at him and raised a brow.

"You all right? That actually made sense for once." Bakusa rolled his eyes at the insult and was about to insult him back, but a man walked up to them and spoke before he could.

"You gentlemen look like you could use some entertainment, if you know what I mean," the man started to wink and nudge the air with his elbow. Sephiroth raised his upper lip in disgust at what the man was trying to hint at. Houses of ill repute where quite well known in the slums, and obviously the man was working for one. Sephiroth was about to tell him to leave when the man changed his demeanor with a look of recognition in his eye.

"Mr. Locke, I didn't recognize you there with this group. Are you here on business, or pleasure? The Honey Bee Inn always treats their returning customers with pride and care." At that, each member of the squad turned around and looked at Locke, who was now standing with his eyes wide open and his jaw hanging, the toothpick dangling only by his lip.

"Is there something you haven't been telling us Locke?" Sephiroth mused with a smirk. Locke tried to respond, but the bright shade of red his face turned was all the response they needed. The man was confused at first, but then realized that he had just revealed Locke's secret. He winced at his indiscretion and was about to leave, but Sephiroth caught him with a glare that stopped him in his tracks.

"This place you work for, is it usually busy?"

"The Honey Bee Inn? It's the most busiest establishment in all of Midgar. We have many upscale clientele, including members of the Shinra hierarchy, though I can't say who." Sephiroth could believe it; many of the higher members of the company were fairly low on morals.

"You wouldn't by chance have seen an old man wearing a scarf carrying a dozen flowers have you?" The man scratched his head, and then nodded as he remembered.

"Oh yeah, the Professor! He comes in every Friday for his… appointment. He's at the Inn now." Sephiroth nodded to the others and they all moved out towards the Honey Bee Inn, Locke giving the man a dirty look as he passed.

The Honey Bee Inn was on a side alley from the main corridor of Wall Market. Men were all over the alley, debating with themselves whether they wanted to go in or not. Sephiroth pushed through the crowd of stragglers and came to the bouncer of the club. The man was a wall of muscle with his arms crossed. As if he was trying to push his manly image, he wore sunglasses that were far too dark for the slums. The bouncer raised his hand and stopped them from entering.

"You can't come in unless you have a pass." Sephiroth sighed and looked to Locke. Locke was still a deep shade of red, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out his personal pass. Sephiroth took it and showed it to the bouncer. He briefly looked it over, and then waved them in. As they passed the bouncer, he stopped Loran and shook his head.

"No girls allowed, unless you want to work here," he added as he smiled. Loran looked into his dark sunglasses and glared the most evil look she could muster, taking the gesture from her squad leader. The bouncer visibly drew back and shook his head.

"I'm sorry miss, but rules are rules." Loran sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

"This is discrimination!" she yelled at the bouncer, who was now taking a step back from the fuming young woman. Sephiroth came over to her and spoke in a low tone.

"Just wait out here, it won't take long for us to find the Professor. Unless you don't think you can stay out here by yourself, I could leave Bakusa here with you," he said with a smirk. Loran tried to give the same glare at Sephiroth, but it only made him lightly chuckle to himself. She gave up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'll be fine out here, don't worry." Sephiroth lightly nodded and turned back around to enter the Inn. Loran turned around to leave the entryway, and it was not soon before every guy waiting in line to get into the Inn was eyeing her with sinful intent. Loran noticed their looks, so with a devilish grin, she swaggered herself over to a bench and took a seat. She smiled at all of the guys and batted her eyes.

"So which one of you wants to be first?"

* * *

Inside the Honey Bee Inn, Sephiroth, Locke, and Bakusa were standing in the large open lobby of the Inn. The lobby was circular, with six doors surrounding the room. Each door had a sign above it, with the name for the room written in gold sparkling letters.

A young woman wearing more make up than she should, came walking up wearing an erotic, yet disturbing, bee outfit. Sephiroth could smell the oddly sweet mixture of talcum powder and perfume that the young woman was wearing. She looked at the three SOLDIERs and put on one of the best fake smiles they had ever seen.

"Hello sirs, if you would choose a room…" the woman asked as she continued her fake smile. Sephiroth scanned the area quickly and found the overly ornate features of the decorum to be revolting. He glared at the young woman and asked her where the Professor was at. She winced back at the look, and before she realized that she was breaking the house rules, she told him the answer.

"Oh, him. He's in the Lover's Room… (Geez, these guys look like the violent types…)" Sephiroth heard her make the comment to herself but paid it no mind. He walked over to the Lover's Room and tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Open the door," he said with the hint of a threat in his voice to the girl. She started at the inflicted tone and quickly ran to the door with her set of keys. She quickly unlocked the door and stood back.

Sephiroth opened the door and saw what was going on inside. The Professor was laying on the bed with his scarf loose around his neck. His hands and feet were tied up to the bed posts and three other women, each wearing the same odd bee outfit, were tickling his feet with long white feathers. The Professor looked up at them in shock and tried to get out of the bed, but his restraints were keeping him in the bed. Sephiroth tried his best to keep from laughing at the old man, and quickly gave the order to the girls.

"Untie the Professor; he's needed back at work. We'll be out here," he said as he closed the door. Within a few moments, the Professor stepped out of the room and was busily trying to retie his scarf around his neck. He looked flustered, but once he saw the three SOLDIERs his demeanor became more reserved.

"What's this business about me being needed at work?" Professor Loire said. Sephiroth reached into his pocket and tossed the Professor the amulet. He caught it and looked over it. After a moment, the realization of what he was looking at dawned on him.

"Where did you get this?" he asked. Sephiroth stepped closer to him and gave a blank expression.

"That's classified. Do you recognize the design on it?" The Professor nodded and handed the amulet back.

"Of course, but I can't remember exactly what it means off the top of my head. We have to go back to my office to consult my books there." Sephiroth nodded and turned to leave the Inn. Locke and Bakusa followed, and the Professor did as well, but not before he kissed each of the women good bye on their cheeks. When they were gone, each of the girls looked at each other and started to giggle.

"Who were those guys just now?"

"I don't know, but the orange haired one was kind of cute."

"Oh please, I would take the dark haired one any day."

"Eh, he's been in here before. Now that tall silver haired one, that's the one I'd like to get."

"Oh, I don't know, he looks like a rough one."

"Hmm, that's why I'd want him."

* * *

When Sephiroth and the others stepped out of the Inn, they stood in shock at the sight that was before them. Several dozen men were laying on the ground moaning in pain as Loran stood on a bench smirking down at all of them. She saw the others coming out of the Inn and jumped off of the bench. Sephiroth looked from Loran to the men laying on the ground.

"Have fun?" he asked.

"I was able to keep myself amused," Loran said as she shrugged her shoulders. Sephiroth smirked, and then led the group back towards the train station.

The ride back was uneventful and comfortable, because the train was totally vacant save for a few people returning to the plate after having their fun in the slums. Sephiroth watched a few of these people as they walked through the train cars, laughing at people's misfortunes. When they looked at him, he gave them a sneer that made them go silent until the passed to the next car, where the inevitably started to say how they could have taken the rude silver haired man if they wanted to. The cowardice of people made Sephiroth think lowly of them. True, there were a few of them who were strong of character, but they were few and far between. He once had heard a sidewalk preacher yelling about how the human race was doomed, and how a great vengeance from the gods would strike the entire world dead. When he saw the pitiful displays of human existence, he sometimes wondered if total destruction was a bad thing. This was one of those times. Yet as many times as he thought about it, he always came to the same conclusion; total destruction would be a waste if there was at least one person who was virtuous.

Sephiroth came to that same conclusion this time and smirked to himself. 'Must be my conscience,' he thought to himself as he looked over his squad, all of which were doing their habitual activities. Locke had recovered from his embarrassment and was again leaning on something, chewing his toothpick. Bakusa was stretched out and looking quite lax about his protocol. Loran was again sitting on the seat backwards, watching the great city of Midgar come into view. The Professor was sitting besides Bakusa, twiddling his thumbs in a strange manner that Sephiroth took for either nervousness or anxiousness.

The train came to a stop at the station, and they all exited and made their way to the Shinra Tower. Once they were back on the 56th floor, they followed the Professor as he led the way to his office. Sephiroth was amazed at the difference in the building when most of the workers were off shift. The halls and corridors were virtually vacant, save for the few unlucky employees that were still going about their work. The lights were dimmed slightly in a tactic designed to conserve power. It really did not matter, since Shinra Inc. owned all of the electricity produced, but it still wanted to sell as much of it as it could.

As the Professor opened the office door, Sephiroth mused with the notion that Shinra Inc. must be worth over a trillion gil. With funds like that, they could easily have tons of secret projects going under way that were so top secret, not even the other projects knew that they existed.

Professor Loire opened the door and held it open for the SOLDIERs. Once they were all inside, he went into his inner office and took a seat behind his desk. Sephiroth and the others followed him in and stood in front of his desk. Professor Loire pulled an old book from a shelf behind him and switched on the lamp on his desk. He quickly flipped through the pages and ran his finger along the text until he found what he was looking for.

"Ah yes, here it is. May I see the amulet again?" Sephiroth dug it out of his pocket and handed it to the Professor. Loire pulled out a magnifying glass from his desk and inspected the amulet with a keen eye. Loran was interested in the large book, so she leaned over to get a better look. Loire's attention drifted from the amulet and Loran caught him looking at her. He realized he was caught and smiled at her.

"You have very pretty eyes. That violet flower accents them well." Loran tried to put a smile on her face and she stood away from the book. Sephiroth cleared his throat and leaned both of his arms on the desk.

"The amulet, Professor. What can you tell me about it?" Professor Loire smiled apologetically and then looked back down to the book. After scanning the page again, he tapped on a paragraph and then looked up.

"Ah, this insignia on the amulet is the symbol for the Ryuujin Brotherhood." Sephiroth shook his head to show that he did not know what that was. The Professor leaned back in his chair and explained. "The Ryuujin Brotherhood was a cult of sorts that worshiped dragons, namely the Ryuujin, or the Dragon God. They were spread through out the world, but were mainly found in Wutai. Seemingly they disappeared about 200 years ago." Sephiroth took the information in, but it was Bakusa who first spoke.

"What does this have to do with a bunch of ninjas?" Sephiroth glared at Bakusa from the corner of his eye at revealing information that was supposed to be secret. The Professor sat forward in his chair and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Ninjas? Did you find this amulet on a ninja?" Sephiroth figured that it did not matter anymore if the Professor knew their origin, so he nodded his head. The Professor again consulted his book and shook his head.

"Hmm. It says here that the Brotherhood had an elite guard that was supposed to be the personal army for Ryuujin. And you say you saw some of these members?" Sephiroth briefly nodded and changed the subject.

"You're going to have to make a full report by 0800 tomorrow and give it to the Executives in their conference room." The Professor opened his eyes in shock and fumbled the notes on his desk.

"Oh, of course! I'll have a full report to give. Do you think the President will be there too?"

"I'm sure of it," Sephiroth said and then made his way out of the office. When he and his group were back on the elevator returning to their rooms in building C, Locke asked Sephiroth a question.

"Is it necessary for that guy to give the report? Couldn't we just do it?" Sephiroth shrugged his shoulders, making his mythril pauldrons clink loudly in the otherwise silent elevator.

"We could, but it would be more believable coming from the Professor. Besides, I don't like talking to that group of idiots."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter X

In the Conference room, Professor Loire clicked the small controller in his hand and the slide projector clicked to another image of the insignia on the amulet. For the past ten minutes, the Professor had been lecturing over the history of the dragon legend. Although he used many long and drawn out explanations and antiquated phrases, the quick summary to what he said was simple to follow.

Apparently, the Ryuujin Brotherhood had been formed nearly a thousand years ago in the past, and was made up of devout worshipers of the Great Dragons that had ruled the Planet long before man or the Ancients that were now extinct. The Brotherhood was awaiting the return of the Dragon God, who was said to bring about the end of the world. Though the information was different than what they were used to hearing, the attention spans of the executives were still drifting.

"So as you can see," Professor Loire said in conclusion, "this amulet belongs to a member of the Ryuujin Brotherhood, which proves that they are no longer defunct as was previously believed." The lights in the conference room returned to normal and the executives readjusted themselves in their seats. Heidegger was now asleep, but since he never added anything interesting to the conversation, no one decided to wake him.

"Thank you Professor, that was most informative," President Shinra said as he stifled a yawn. "If we have any more questions, we'll reach you at your office." Professor Loire smiled and nodded, and then took the queue to leave the conference room. Once he was gone, the President finally let out his yawn and addressed the members gathered.

"Now, what exactly was the purpose for that boring lecture?" Sephiroth was about to answer, but Veld leaned forward and took the question.

"What we know now sir, is that the troops encountered by Sephiroth and his squad at the cave were not Wutai soldiers, but were members of this Brotherhood. I can also say that we have confirmed that the person who broke into the library was also a member of the same group."

"So is this a terrorist group?" Shinra asked. Veld looked over to Heidegger, who was now lightly snoring, and nudged him awake. Heidegger started in his chair, and looked around quickly as if he did not know where he was. President Shinra only looked at him with an icy glare, but Veld whispered the question into his ear. Heidegger listened and raised his head when he understood what he was asked for.

"Ah, no sir, we don't think so," Heidegger said in a manner as if he had never been caught asleep. "A terrorist group would have no use for this Huge Materia thing on their own. I believe it would be more accurate to say that this cult has allied themselves with Wutai and are locating these Huge Materia for them." Sephiroth opened his eyes in shock at what seemed to be the first intelligent thing that Heidegger had ever said. Before this meeting, he had been thinking the same thing. After all, Sephiroth had fought Wutai soldiers before, but the ninja that he saw in that cave were different in many ways.

"Hmm, well that's interesting. Hojo, have you made any progress on locating where the other crystals may be?" Hojo nodded and pulled a rolled up map from beneath his chair. He stood and quickly unrolled it along the conference table.

"Now, I had to consult several different maps and geological surveys concerning the ebb and flow of Mako energy, but I've isolated the regions by locating spots of Mako concentration. I've indicated each spot on the map with a circle," Hojo said as he pointed out the location for the first recovered Huge Materia. The executives and Sephiroth's squad moved closer so they could see the map.

Besides the spot where they had all ready discovered one, there were four other areas. One was located on the Western Continent north of the Corel Mountains in the badlands. One was located south of the North Pole at the large crater surrounded by the Gaia Cliffs. Another was shown to be at a small island north east from the Central Continent. The island was basically uncharted, so the map just showed a featureless land mass in the shape of a circle. The fifth point was causing the murmuring among the executives; it was located in the center of the Wutai Continent.

Hojo allowed everyone to see it before he spoke again. "Obviously the one located on the Wutai Continent is inaccessible, and it would be safe to assume that Wutai all ready has found that one. It could also explain how they are able to make their Leviathan summon remain on constant patrol of their shores." President Shinra agreed, and took his seat. The other executives did as well and Sephiroth and his squad stood back from the table.

"Now that we know where these things are at, and now that we have a clearer picture of who is trying to get these things, I want to make sure that we get them first. Sephiroth, I want you and your squad, along with Captain Mortis, to recover these Huge Materia. I don't think you're going to have to try and do this clandestinely, so you have the full support of the Shinra resources. If you encounter any more of these Brotherhood members, I can trust that you will deal with them effectively," the President put extra emphasis on the word 'effectively'.

"Yes sir," Sephiroth said and then made his way out of the conference room. While he was heading to the stairs to return to their dorm rooms to retrieve their weapons, Mortis asked Sephiroth a question.

"Do you believe that stuff about a dragon cult?" Sephiroth shrugged and continued on his walk.

"I don't care who they are, but if they stand in my way I'll deal with them." Mortis smirked and continued to walk beside him.

"So which one are you planning on going after next?"

"Do you have a suggestion?" Sephiroth asked.

"I have one, how about we don't take a fishing boat this time," Loran said from the back of the group.

"Well, I don't think we'll be taking a fishing boat, but at least we could take a full on ship or something," Locke added.

"I think we should head to the closest one," Mortis said. Sephiroth nodded in agreement.

"That would be the one north of Corel. We'll have to take a ship from Junon to Costa del Sol. From there we can cross the mountains and get to the rocky lands north of the Corel River. From there, we'll just have to keep our eyes open for a cave or something similar."

Once they were back in Building C, Sephiroth gave them five minutes to retrieve their weapons and any other supplies they needed before meeting back up in the lounge area.

"Everyone ready? We're heading out for Junon," Sephiroth said as he surveyed his squad. Everyone nodded, and they all fell in line behind him. As they rode the elevator down, Bakusa voiced his concern.

"So exactly how are we getting to Junon?" Sephiroth looked at him blankly and answered.

"How do you think we're going to get there? We're going to take the transcontinental railroad." The railroad in question was a new feature to Midgar. While it had been in development for several years, it was only recently opened. Before the railroad was opened, people had to take a ferry from Midgar to Junon, which took nearly eighteen hours. With the train, the trip now only took eight hours. The train exited Midgar and headed south until it reached the Mythril Mountains, where it then ran through a series of tunnels and winding paths until it reached the Junon River. From there, the train crossed the river and eventually arrived in an underground station in Junon.

Sephiroth and the others exited the Shinra Complex and entered the large truck that was waiting for them. As they rode to the station, Sephiroth lightly laughed at the idea of all of Shinra's resources being at their disposal, and yet they were still riding in a typical military truck. Once they reached the station in Sector 7, Sephiroth exited the truck and looked at the ornately designed train station. The architecture was supposed to showcase the glory of Shinra's realm of influence, but Sephiroth doubted that anyone even thought about it being anything other than a fancy train station.

Though it was on the upper plate, many of the people seen entering the station were of mixed social classes. All sorts of people utilized the railroad and were keeping the newly constructed line busy. Sephiroth even wondered if the Company had all ready recouped it's losses from constructing the railroad.

After they each received their tickets, again free, they entered the train and found the small cabin that they were going to be staying in. The cabin was quaint, but it would serve its purpose. While there were no beds on the train, the two benches were rather long and comfortable looking. Before anyone else entered the cabin, Loran jumped in and took a seat at the window. Sephiroth stowed his sword in the overhead compartment and held the compartment door open for Mortis to place his spear there as well.

Bakusa made a fake yawn and tried to sit down next to Loran while placing his arm around her. But before he fully sat down, she got up and moved to the other bench. Bakusa slumped down on the bench and looked dejected. Locke laughed, and bumped him on the shoulder to move over. Bakusa slid over and leaned his head on the window. After Mortis placed his spear in the compartment, he took his seat next to Locke. Sephiroth then sat next to Loran, which made Locke smirk and he tried to share his thoughts with Bakusa, but a sharp glare from Sephiroth made him drop the idea.

* * *

The train ride was pleasant, which to Sephiroth meant that it was uneventful. Loran stared out of the window most of the time, briefly turning around to point something out to Sephiroth, who lightly looked out of the window and either nodded or gave a non committal sound. Locke disassembled his pistols and cleaned them about three times, which was his usual routine when he became bored. Bakusa slept against the glass and occasionally woke up when the train would move just enough to cause his head to bump into the window. Mortis constantly looked over a small version of the map that Hojo had made, and scribbled notes to himself in the margins. Sephiroth sat with his eyes closed, not trying to sleep but was merely resting. Of course the occasional disturbance from Loran interrupted this, but it did not happen enough to irritate him.

The sky above them was a clear crisp blue, with only a small trace of clouds gently whisking across the sky. The Mythril Mountains were an earthy tone of brown, with snow still on their caps even this late into the year. The Junon River was a deep rich blue, much unlike the putrid brown of the waters near Midgar.

Once the train passed over the river, it entered a tunnel that ran the entire width of a mountain and entered the underground facility of Junon. From there, the ride was much like a train ride through Midgar, with bright colored lights streaking by the contrasting dark metal as the train sped on. As the train came to a stop, Sephiroth and the others stood, retrieved their items, and made their way to the outer platform.

The underground facility of Junon was much like that of Midgar; cold lifeless steel with a hint of over advertisement and the smell of grease. Junon was not as dirty as Midgar, or at least it was not yet. People were all over the platform carrying their possessions and scurrying away to the small room they rented above one of the many small proprietors all over Junon. Much like Midgar, Junon was faced with an over population issue, but where Junon was also built above the old town, the people there were not forced to live in a cesspool of a slum. The difference here was that many of the people that still wanted to live in the lower districts were there because they were still living in the past. Old people who were still clinging to the memory of the thriving fishing town of old. Sephiroth looked over to Locke and knew that his parents were like those people. In all honestly, Sephiroth could not blame them or feel for them. He had never known a single place that he would call home. Midgar was close, but it held no special meaning for him.

Sephiroth brushed away the thought and made sure that his entire squad was ready, and then moved out, following the signs that pointed the way to the main harbor. They had to ride an elevator that was more like a rising platform to the upper city, and then it was a simple walk down the avenue to the harbor.

When they arrived at the docked ship, the _Prima Vista_, the Captain of the ship quickly saluted and welcomed them.

"Welcome to the _Prima Vista_. We were informed of your intention to going to Costa del Sol, and we were ordered to take you there. If you'll make your way aboard, we'll be underway shortly." Sephiroth nodded and boarded the ship. Within five minutes, the _Prima Vista_ began to move.

The _Prima Vista_ slowly began to make her way out of the Junon harbor. Sailors were busily running over her metal decking, making last minute checks and final preparations. Sephiroth took the opportunity to check on the cabin that they were to be using. The cabin was fairly good sized, with two separate rooms with three bunks in each. He noted that there might be an issue with the sleeping arrangements, but he would worry about that when the time came. The trip to the Western Continent would take 17 hours give or take, depending on the weather. He did not foresee any danger aboard the ship, so he placed his sword on one of the beds and went back out onto the deck.

His unit had split up, like usual, so he decided to see where everyone was at. The first person he found was Loran, again on the bow. But instead of looking down into the break, she was staring up at the tarnished brass edifice of Junon's metal plating in the orange glow of the sunset. She noticed Sephiroth approaching, so with wide eyes, she pointed up.

"What is that thing!?!" Sephiroth followed her finger and saw the massive form of the Mako Cannon. Scaffolding was still entirely covering the weapon and work crews could be seen climbing all over it's massive length.

"That's the Mako Cannon, brain child of the former Weapons Development Department. After Wutai had conquered nearly all of the Western Continent during the first phase of the war, the Shinra wanted the ultimate weapon to defend them. That monstrosity is what they came up with."

"How long have they been working on it?" Loran asked as the enormous shadow of the cannon passed over the ship.

"About seven years. After Wutai was turned back, production began to slow and the funds were allocated to other projects. It should be complete within the year though. Don't really know what good it'll do, unless the shot can find a way to curve around the Planet and reach Wutai."

"Do you think it could actually do that?"

I don't know," Sephiroth said as he shrugged. "I've never cared for artillery. I prefer a more direct approach." Loran took her eyes off of the cannon and looked at Sephiroth, who was still watching the cannon pass over head. As she looked at him, she wondered just how many of the stories she had heard were true. Was the one about him single handedly taking out an entire Wutai battalion true? Or what about the one where he burned an entire Southern Wutai village to the ground just to find a single Corporal who may have been carrying an important communiqué? From what she had seen of him, he was a great fighter, but nothing of the legendary caliber that all the stories said he possessed. As she looked at him, she began to feel that maybe he was just the victim of exaggeration on behalf of the Shinra Propaganda department. When she thought about that truth, she began to see him not as a mysterious figure, but a lonely soldier who could never escape his reputation. She wanted to place her hand on his shoulder and let him know that she understood, but she decided not to follow her impulse.

Sephiroth looked back at Loran, who was now looking at him as if he had something on his face. She smiled warmly to him, but he only raised his brow in confusion. "Is there something on my face?" Loran looked confused for a moment, and then shook her head.

"No, I was only thinking about something. It's not important." Sephiroth nodded, still not totally in comprehension, and changed the subject.

"The cabin we got has two rooms, each with three beds. Looks like you're going to have to share a room with someone. I'll let you choose." Loran nodded and then began to think out loud.

"Well, I definitely don't want to share it with Bakusa. Nothing against him, but he sort of creeps me out with his constant come ons." Sephiroth laughed lightly and nodded his head.

"You don't have to make up your mind yet. I'm going to go see where everyone else is." Loran nodded and Sephiroth made his way back towards the crates that were piled up on the deck. There he found Locke twirling both of his pistols and randomly aiming at sea gulls as they passed by over head. Locke saw Sephiroth walking up, so he holstered his guns and nodded to his captain.

"What's up boss?" Sephiroth looked at him with a mocking glance and then looked out at the foaming sea.

"Does twirling your guns improve your aim?" Locke shrugged and scratched his head.

"It kills the time. Hey boss, what do you think about Mortis? He seem a little distant to you?" Sephiroth shrugged and leaned against one of the crates.

"To me he seems as if he doesn't know why he's here. He quit the program years ago because he didn't like taking orders, but now he's back to bring an end to the war. I don't see how one man could do something like that. If you ask me he seems confused, and that's sad considering his abilities." Locke nodded, though he was not expecting that detailed of an answer.

"Yeah, but he's still a nice guy I guess." Sephiroth nodded and made a noncommittal sound.

"The cabin we have has two rooms and three beds in each, so Loran gets to pick who she shares a room with. So far she said she doesn't want to share it with Bakusa." Locke laughed and rolled the toothpick in his mouth.

"Yeah, I could have seen that one coming. My guess is you want to share the room with her, right?" Locke asked as he pressed his tongue to his cheek to keep from laughing. Sephiroth looked at Locke and blinked a few times before he responded.

"It doesn't matter to me either way." Locke let out a quick breath in laughter and rolled the toothpick back to the other side of his mouth.

"Well, whatever you want to say, your secret's safe with me." Sephiroth shook his head and turned around.

"You're worse than a bunch of little girls. You know where the others are at?" Locke let out a laugh and pointed towards the bridge.

"Last I saw, Bakusa and Mortis were in there." Sephiroth did not bother to say anything more and made his way to the bridge. Locke laughed again, finding the awkwardness of his captain to be humorous.

Sephiroth climbed the metal stairway that led up to the bridge and entered the small room. Several sailors were manning their posts, watching the instrumentation with well trained eyes. In a smaller room at the rear of the bridge, he found Mortis and Bakusa looking over sea charts of the world. He entered the room and looked down at the maps. Bakusa was trying his best to keep a look of intelligence on his face, but the quick notations that Mortis was making and the seafaring lingo that he was using was obviously passing right over Bakusa's dense head. Mortis looked up when Sephiroth entered and nodded to the silver haired SOLDIER.

"I looked over our cabin. Loran has to share a room with someone, so she's going to pick." Bakusa stood tall and polished his knuckles on his shirt.

"Obviously it's going to be me. Women find me irresistible." Sephiroth smirked and shook his head.

"Actually, you're the only one that she said she didn't want to share a room with." Mortis let out a sound that was a hybrid between a cough and a laugh and continued to try to calculate routes on the map. Bakusa deflated himself and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I'll be in the cabin if anyone needs me, but I doubt that anyone will," Bakusa said as he left the map room in an overly dramatic walk. After the door had closed, Mortis went back to doing the calculations on the map. Sephiroth looked at the map that was spread over the table and recognized the inarticulate land mass that was northwest of the Central Continent. Though the sea chart had no definition to the island, there was a name for it.

"Round Island? Sounds almost as inventive as Huge Materia," Sephiroth said as he let a smirk come across his face. Mortis let out a grunt and placed his small notebook into his vest pocket. He looked at Sephiroth with his one good eye and asked a question that had been on his mind for some time.

"Tell me, do you ever feel like you're being used by Shinra?" Sephiroth let out a light laugh and nodded.

"All the time, but then that's just part of being in SOLDIER." Mortis shook his head and turned to face the window in the door that looked out into the bridge.

"You're okay with carrying out the nefarious deeds of those who never get to see the destruction they bring to the world? You're okay with being a tool for destruction?" Sephiroth thought about the question for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

"We're told to do a lot of things, some of them without honor, I'll admit to that. That doesn't mean I find enjoyment in it. What I enjoy is the thrill of the fight. Being in SOLDIER gives me that, so that's all I care about." Mortis let out a sigh and shook his head.

"That's the sins of youth talking. I should know, I was young once." Sephiroth let out a non committing sound and left it at that. He could see that the old SOLDIER had entered a nostalgic regretful mood, so he left him to his thoughts and went to the officer's galley to eat a quick meal.

When he was done there, he went to the cabin where he found everyone else getting ready to get to sleep. He noticed that Bakusa was in the far bunk, with Locke in the one next to him and Mortis in the last one. He raised a brow at the arrangement, and a big grin came across Locke's face.

"No need to worry anymore boss, she chose to share the room with you," Locke said and started to laugh. Bakusa and Locke both exchanged a few quick nudges between each other and even Mortis chuckled at the situation. Sephiroth shook his head in annoyance and entered the adjoining room. When he left, both Locke and Bakusa began to laugh even harder. Mortis turned the lights off in the room and let them continue for only a moment.

"All right that's enough. Damn kids…"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI

Early in the afternoon of the next day, the _Prima Vista_ came into port at Costa del Sol. Sephiroth stood on the bow and watched the tugboats push the ship into the small harbor area. Sea gulls were now assaulting the ship as if there was something for them to eat on the large metal wave rider. The sun was beating down with an unrelenting heat and the warm southern breeze that was blowing in from the hot South Seas was not helping. Still, Sephiroth stood and did not let the heat visually show on his face. Though he was wearing a long black coat made of non-breathing leather, one could not tell that he was hot underneath it.

The costal town of Costa del Sol was a major tourist attraction for those people who were usually stuck in the cold metal coffin that was Midgar. As the ship came to a halt and her crew busily fixed the lines to the dock, Sephiroth stood by the gangway and waited for the ramp to be lowered. Soon Loran and Mortis were with him, and Bakusa and Locke came up only a moment later. Sephiroth lightly nodded to them and again focused on the gangway. Once the ramp was lowered, he stepped off and briefly surveyed the area before he walked into the main area of Costa del Sol.

All around him, tourists were busily walking around wearing only thin pieces of cloth that did not leave much to the imagination. Many of them wore sunglasses, and several of these people lowered their glasses so they could get a better look at the comparatively over dressed SOLDIER members. Some were able to recognize Sephiroth from the propaganda posters and they excitedly pointed him out and bragged to their friends that they had seen him first. Sephiroth himself sneered at the usual comments that he was now tempered to, and made his way to the local Shinra garrison, which was subtly disguised as a non descript gray building, a stark contrast to the bright sandy tones of the usual stucco buildings of the port city. When they entered, the two Shinra MP's quickly came to full attention and gave a sharp salute. Sephiroth paid them no mind and went into the inner office of the garrison commander.

The commander was a short man of short ambitions. When Sephiroth and the others entered, he stood from his desk, quickly rubbed the cookie crumbs off of his hand on his uniform pants, and extended it to the Captain. Sephiroth lightly raised his brow as he looked from the man to the extended hand. After a moment where the commander kept his hand extended, he retracted it and coughed to escape the awkward situation.

"Ah, Captain Sephiroth! I received the communiqué this morning. I hear you're needing a transport and a guide who knows the area north of Corel. I have a truck ready and an MP who knows the area well. May I ask as to what you're needing to go there for?" Sephiroth gave the lowly commander an unwelcome glare and spoke quickly.

"You may ask if you want to," Sephiroth said matter-of-factly. The commander looked confused for a moment, and then saw the annoyance that was in the Captain's eyes and got the hint. The commander swallowed and picked up his phone to call the motorcade. After a quick confirmation, he hung the phone up and then smiled at the group.

"The truck is being brought out front. You can tell the driver where it is that you're wanting to go." Sephiroth lightly made a sound and exited the building, again being saluted by the MP's.

Outside was a typical Shinra military truck, one that all members of SOLDIER were used to traveling in. Sephiroth opened the door to the back and entered. While everyone else was getting in, he rapped on the partition glass and the MP driver opened the sliding window.

"Yes sir!" the MP said.

"Head towards the mountains north of Corel. We're wanting to find a way to cross the Corel River and get onto the badlands. Do you know of a way to get there?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes sir. There's a bridge at the peak of Mount Celes, but the truck can only get you about half way. From there you'll have to walk sir." Sephiroth nodded and looked back to the rest of the group. Each member was now sitting where ever they could, which was not saying much. Sephiroth found a crate that looked more comfortable than the floor, so he took a seat as the truck began to move out. Bakusa tried to get comfortable on the floor while he rested his back on another box. After a moment of protesting, he punched the box and leaned forward in disgust.

"I thought we were supposed to have the entire resources of Shinra at our disposal?"

"We do," Mortis said as he closed his eyes.

"Then why are we traveling in a damned truck?" Bakusa asked.

"Because this is what Shinra thinks is adequate. You should know that by now," Mortis said as he let out a dry laugh. Bakusa shook his head and slumped against his box. Sephiroth let a smirk come to his face as he watched Mortis outwit Bakusa. He was right though; Shinra would only allow them to use what they deemed to be adequate, otherwise they would have given them a faster mode of transportation.

Soon the truck left the sprawling tourist attraction and entered the bumpy roads that connected Costa del Sol with the rest of the Western Continent. Sephiroth had been on this continent for the better part of the war. Granted it was in the south western part, but it was still the same land mass. He knew that about a hundred miles south of their present location was an unrelenting desert, where oddly enough a man was trying to build a luxury resort. Sephiroth thought that the idea was ludicrous, but then there was much in this world that he did not understand.

The ride in the truck seemed to last for an eternity, but in reality it only lasted for two hours. The rough terrain of the road made the stiff suspension of the truck bounce all over the place, making for an uncomfortable ride. But after the two hour trip, the truck came to a stop and the driver opened the glass partition.

"Sir, this is as far as the truck can go." Sephiroth stood from his box and opened the door. The rush of hot air quickly filled the cold interior of the truck, reminding Sephiroth that the climate of the region was less than what he found to be acceptable. The sun was still beating down overhead, so he had to squint until his emerald eyes adjusted to the abundance of light. After he stepped out, the others made their way out of the truck and also struggled to adjust to the surroundings.

The MP had also gotten out of the cab and was loading a Shinra standard issue assault rifle. Sephiroth looked at him and cocked his head in curiosity.

"Are you planning on coming with us?" he asked the MP.

"That's right sir. After all, I know this area fairly well and if I had to guess, you're wanting to cross the badlands, which can be a maze if you don't know your way across it." Sephiroth lightly smirked at the confidence of the MP in his abilities. If there was not a mission that he was concentrating on, he would inquire if this young man had tried to enter the Program. Very few of the regular MP's showed the abilities to enter SOLDIER, but every single one of them always wanted to be in it. It always came down to whether they made the grade or not, and the majority of the time they did not.

Once the group was adjusted to the light and heat, Sephiroth allowed the MP to lead the way and they followed him up a small path up the mountain. As they walked, the MP pointed out different features of the mountain and seemed to talk endlessly. About thirty minutes into their trek, Sephiroth began to understand why the MP must have been overlooked for the Program; he simply talked too much.

"Now you see this plant here? This is what they call agave. Now it's main use is for medical purposes like the aloe vera plant we saw earlier, but the people down in Cosmo Canyon also make a type of alcohol out of it. It's the main ingredient in their signature drink, the Cosmo Candle, obviously named after the large undying flame at the center of their city. I've never seen it myself, but I've heard that it's rather strange. One of these days when I get leave I'm going to go and see it. Now I know what you're thinking, and yes I am stationed in Costa del Sol, but you get sick of staying in any one place for too long, you know what I mean?"

Sephiroth let out an annoyed sigh at the constant rambling of the MP and it did not seem as if there was an end in sight. Loran noticed his annoyance and lightly laughed to herself. Sephiroth noticed and looked at her, but she only gave him an innocent smile.

After another ten minutes of walking, and listening to the incipient drabble coming from the MP, they reached the summit of the mountain. From below, the deep blue of the Corel River could be seen below them. Across the river extended the badlands, an extensive plateau of sun baked broken earth that stretched to the Tower Mountains that ended into the Terran Sea. About twenty meters down on the other side of Mount Celes was a rope bridge that crossed over the river and led to the badlands.

Without giving the MP a chance to start lecturing about the river or the flora in the area, Sephiroth began to make his way down the trail to the bridge. When they reached it, Sephiroth checked the old ropes to see if they were still worthy of holding a full load. After he was satisfied, he motioned for the MP to go first. After all, if the bridge proved to not be stable, or if some of the planks were thoroughly rotted through, he would not loose one of his own. He knew that that mentality was cold, but it was the truth.

Once the MP was a quarter of the way across, he began to cross, closely followed by the others. When he reached the halfway point, something at the back of his mind told him that something was not right. He looked behind him to make sure that everyone was still there, and they were. Locke seemed to be slightly uncomfortable on the rickety bridge, which Bakusa was taking full advantage this by shaking the ropes. Mortis was taking up the rear and also had a look of concern. Sephiroth was about to ask if he felt that something was wrong, but the question did not have to be asked.

From both sides of the bridge, a group of black clad ninjas emerged, cutting Sephiroth and his group off from escape. Sephiroth looked at both sides of the bridge and sneered at their predicament. Locke quickly reached for his pistols, but a tall ninja with a bright shock of red hair, who was not wearing the shrouded hood like the others, smirked and shook a finger in the air.

"Now I wouldn't do that. I'd hate to have to tell one of my men to cut the ropes and send the bridge, along with you, falling all the way down." To press his point, four ninjas each pulled their tanto blades and placed them against all four points where the support ropes were tied. Sephiroth hated to admit it, but the ninjas had caught him fair and square. No matter how fast they were, there was no way they could get off of the bridge in time before the ropes could be cut. Even if there was a way to take out the four ninjas threatening the ropes, there were many more who could easily cut the ropes. For the time being, they were at the mercy of the Ryuujin Brotherhood.

The lead ninja could see the truth on Sephiroth's face and let out a ravenous laugh of victory. Sephiroth gave the red head a death glare, but the look did not phase the ninja leader. He merely continued to laugh, which only angered Sephiroth more. When the ninja had had his fun, he made a motion with his hand for the trapped group to walk towards him.

"Head this way, slowly now. If you make any sort of move, well, I don't have to tell you what will happen." Sephiroth growled, and as he began to make his way off of the bridge, he gave a quick glance to Locke, who very lightly had nodded back. The message that they had shared was silent, but they both understood. Once they left the bridge, the ninjas would no longer have their pressed advantage against them, and they could then equally fight their way out of the predicament.

The group quickly came together in a tight group, but Sephiroth had forgotten about the talkative MP. He had exited the bridge first, and before Sephiroth and the others were safely off of the bridge, he tried to raise his rifle to fire. But before the gun even passed his hip level, a shuriken was buried deep into his forehead. The quick motion of the MP had made the ninjas at the ropes jump, and they began to slice through the ropes.

Before one of them could cut the rope, Sephiroth lunged at him and quickly brought the Murasame through the ninja's midsection. The other ninja fell backwards with a smoking hole in-between his eyes. With moments, all of the SOLDIERs were off of the bridge and were engaging in a fight with the ninjas. The other set of ninjas who were on the opposite end of the bridge had abandoned their efforts of cutting the ropes and were now running across to join in on the fight.

Loran quickly parried a blade from one of the ninjas and sliced the belly of her attacker. When she quickly moved to attack another, she caught a glimpse of what her fellow SOLDIERs were doing. Bakusa was busy strangling one from behind as he jumped off of the ground and kicked another ninja square in the face. Locke was rolling and jumping around to keep himself as a moving target, all the while firing his pistols at several ninjas. The ninjas were able to deflect some of his bullets with their blades, but they were only fighting a loosing battle. Mortis swung his spear with expert ease and sent a set of the ninjas flying over the cliff face and into the rolling waters of the Corel River. But the most impressive was Sephiroth.

Sephiroth was quickly moving through the ninja ranks, passing his blade through their bodies as if they were made of paper. For a moment, Loran thought that they were actually going to be able to get out of this trap, but the thought was soon put to rest.

From behind outlaying rock formations, a dozen more ninjas had jumped up, and were aiming what appeared to be grenade launchers. Before she could give a warning, the guns gave a sickening thumping sound and the large canisters hit the ground, releasing a putrid green cloud. Loran tried not to breathe the smoke, but the heat of battle made her body crave air, so she could not hold out for long.

The smoke burned her lungs, and as it entered, she could feel the heat creeping from her lungs to her extremities. As it entered her brain, her vision became blurred and her coordination shattered. As she hit the ground, the last thing that she was able to see was the other members of the squad hitting the ground as well.

Sephiroth fought the effects of the gas, but he too was becoming dizzy. He saw the laughing form of the red headed ninja leader and the sight of him only enraged Sephiroth even more. He swayed back and forth as he fought the mind numbing effects. He approached the laughing leader, but his vision was becoming blurred and doubled. He raised his blade and made to swing at the red headed demon, but the motion made him loose his balance and he fell over.

The ninja leader gave a big evil grin as he looked down on the disorientated form of the great Sephiroth, who was trying to focus his vision on him with dilated Mako glowing pupils. The ninja let out a series of disapproving sounds at Sephiroth and then pulled his head up to make sure that Sephiroth could see him.

"You see now Shinra dog? There's no way you can defeat us! Ryuujin will return, and you can't do anything about it!" Sephiroth struggled to respond, but the ninja only punched him with a tremendous force that sent Sephiroth into a black dark reality.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter XII

_Sephiroth plunged into darkness. It was a strange sensation for him to understand. For a moment he wondered if he was dead, but he brushed aside that idea once he realized that if he was wondering about his state, than he must still be alive. He tried to look around him, but everything was completely covered in a pitch darkness that had never seen the light of day. He could look down and see himself, which confused him since there was no light source for him to be lit by. Once he saw himself, his surroundings began to be illuminated with a strange pulsing blue hue that rolled over everything like a thick fog. He looked around in confusion and tried to figure out just what kind of place this could be. Suddenly he heard a sound that reminded him of a nightmarish creature from his past._

_With only the warning of the beastly cry, the dark creature appeared. Sephiroth vaguely recognized it as something that had haunted him before; something that he knew must not catch up to him. He instinctively looked into his left hand where he normally kept his sword, but it was inconveniently not there. Without his sword, he knew that the creature would have the upper hand. As he turned to run from the approaching monstrosity, he could make out the one red glowing eye. At first he found that he could not run, but he focused himself and soon it was if he was set free from invisible binding chains. As he ran, the creature began to catch up with him, bellowing a maniacal laugh that sounded as if it were echoing into a hollow tin can. From what he could tell, the creature sounded female, but he was not about to find out. _

_As he ran, he could here the sound of the creature jumping from side to side with a speed not known to anything on this planet. He pressed on, but knew that he could not keep this pace up forever. He looked around at the strange terrain that he ran in, and soon found a drop off. Without checking the distance below, he jumped off of the edge and fell ten meters before he hit the bottom._

_He pressed his back against the rock face and heard the ominous creature pass over. With a sigh of relief he stepped away from the wall. Slowly coming into focus, he saw the three shapes of the other members of his squad, all with their backs to him. As he approached them, he began to have a strange feeling about them. When he was about to reach out to touch Locke on the shoulder, all three quickly turned around. Sephiroth jumped back in shock at what he saw. Each member was a strange shade of blue with dark veins coursing over their faces. All had eyes that had feline pupils. They sneered, and their eyes began to glow a fierce red color. Before Sephiroth could react, they lunged at him with an impossible speed._

Sephiroth jumped awake and quickly forced away the person who was looming over him. Loran flew backwards, but caught herself before she hit the rocky floor. Sephiroth erratically looked from one person to the next, and it was only when Mortis stepped forward and showed that he was unarmed that Sephiroth began to calm down. He sat up from his prone position on the floor and began to control his breathing.

"You were experiencing the effects of that nerve toxin they used on us. You must have breathed in more of it than any of us." Sephiroth lightly nodded and winced at the throbbing headache he now noticed. He shifted his weight to one of his legs and pushed himself up. He looked around to get a better understanding of where they were at. They were obviously underground, the walls and ceiling of their cell were cut directly from the stone. A series of iron bars encaged them in this prison. Sephiroth guessed that they were in a cave due to the cool humid air that surrounded them. He ran his hand through his hair and looked to the other members of his squad, who had apparently recovered from the nerve toxin before he did.

"Anyone have any idea where we're at?"

"Well, we're in a cage, my guess is underground," Bakusa said as he rubbed his chin in an effort to look intelligent. Locke shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Well thank you lieutenant obvious. I'm glad you cleared that one up, because I was thinking that maybe we were somewhere in the ocean breathing water." Bakusa raised his fists and began to hop around in a fighting stance. Locke did the same and the two began to exchange insults. Before either could throw a punch, Sephiroth pulled Bakusa back and gave Locke a glare.

"That's enough. Does anyone know how long we've been in here?" Loran reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silver watch.

"Well, it's 1500, so I guess we've been out for an hour." Sephiroth let Bakusa go and nodded to Loran.

"Hmm. They couldn't have taken us far. My guess is that we're in an old coal mine judging by the look of these rocks," Sephiroth said as he ran his hand over the black wall that lightly crumbled as he pulled on a piece of coal.

"The Tower Mountains used to have coal mines in them, but when coal was found in the Corel Mountains, it became too expensive to mine there and the mines were closed," Mortis said as he sat down. Sephiroth nodded and looked out into the small area outside of the cage.

"Has anyone seen a guard?" Sephiroth asked as he turned back around.

"Yeah, a short guy, I think he's standing on the other side of that wall," Locke said in a low tone as he pointed to the entrance to the "prison" area. Sephiroth nodded and then inspected the locking mechanism on the cage. It was a simple lock, not really meant to hold prisoners in. The cage area must have originally meant to be used to only hold supplies and the ninjas had improvised.

"Bakusa, you know how to pick locks?" Sephiroth asked in a whisper. Bakusa nodded and came up to look at the lock.

"Of course. You don't live in the slums for fifteen years and not pick up a thing or two." He bent down and inspected the lock for a moment and then stood back up. "I need something to pick the lock with." Loran reached into her ponytail and pulled out a bobby pin.

"Will this do?" she said as she offered the pin. Bakusa smiled and took it.

"Yeah, this'll do nicely." He reached his hand to the other side of the cage and inserted the pin. After making a few clicking noises with the pin, and a few awkward faces on Bakusa's part, they were rewarded with the heavenly sound of the lock clicking open.

Bakusa withdrew his arm and slowly pushed the cage door open. Silently, they all made their way out of the cage. Sephiroth knew that they had to find their weapons, but he had no idea of where to look. While everyone was focusing on the entranceway to the chamber, Mortis took the time to inspect the shadowed area and found a locker. He shrugged his shoulders and opened it and was surprised to find their weapons waiting for them. He made a quick snapping sound to get everyone's attention and they turned to see what he had discovered. Sephiroth almost laughed at the stupidity of the Brotherhood as he checked his Murasame for the linked materia and then nodded to everyone else, who had replaced their weapons on themselves.

Silently Sephiroth took the lead and quickly looked out into the outer area beyond their chamber. The guard was leaning against the wall with his head lowered. Sephiroth thought that he was asleep, but the erratic breathing pattern let him know that he was still awake. Sephiroth smirked and easily slipped into the main shaft and slammed the blunt edge of his sword into the guard ninja's throat, instantly crushing his windpipe. The ninja fell to the ground, with eyes wide and his mouth making a silent gasp for air. After a strange moment of silent death, the ninja became still and Sephiroth motioned for Locke and Bakusa to move the ninja into the prison chamber that they had just came from. When they were back, Sephiroth made a silent motion with his right hand for them to move out, and they all followed him down the mineshaft corridor.

The corridor winded back and forth without having a branch off or an intersecting shaft. After silently creeping through nearly 100 meters of the dark and silent corridor, a dim light began to illuminate the rocky damp walls. Sephiroth lightly moved along the wall and saw that the light was coming from a closed wooden paneled door. The wood planks were fairly rotten, letting large gaps of light spill through into the otherwise black corridor.

Sephiroth peered through one of the cracks and saw several Brotherhood members nailing the top onto a large wooden crate. From the crate, he could make out a strange purple glow and the vague sound of the harmonic hum. He did not have to physically see it to know that it was another Huge Materia, the one that they were originally after. As the members fixed the top to the crate, the same red headed leader was giving out orders. Sephiroth sneered, but knew that he could not openly attack them. Instead, he saw an old shovel lying on the ground and he lightly placed it against the door, jamming it against the knob and the floor. Most probably it would not keep them trapped, but it might buy some time.

Sephiroth silently backed up and then spoke in a whisper to his group. "They're in there, boxing up the Huge Materia. The corridor keeps going and there's a breeze, so the way out must be up ahead." Everyone lightly nodded, and they followed their captain down the corridor.

After a few more winding turns, the sound of a humming motor began to fill their ears, and soon they came upon the large mine chamber where the noise was emanating. The chamber was rather large, much larger than one would expect in a mine. The motor was actually a Mako generator, powering the light system that dimly illuminated the entire mine. Large chunks of old boulders still littered the floor, making the seemingly empty room look as if it was never completed. The large chamber had remnants of what was once the elevator system, but the only components still remaining were the rusty cage and the rotting framework for the lift. Above the ground level appeared to be a ridge nearly 10 meters above, seemingly one of the many levels that the lift rose to. When Sephiroth saw the upper ledge, an alarm of warning went off in his head. The exit was on the far side of the room, nearly 20 meters away.

He began to make his way there, but he was stopped when the red headed leader of this Brotherhood group jumped down, and landed in a crouch in the center of the chamber. Red looked up and gave a maniacal grin as he became engulfed in red ethereal flames. Sephiroth and his group quickly took up their fighting stances. Locke decided not to wait to see what Red turned into, so he opened fire, but the bullets only seemed to be absorbed by the flames. Locke stopped firing and looked to his pistols. He was about to figure out the reason why, but the ninja gave the reason why when he erupted into a bright ball of flame, and standing in his place was the fiery demonic form of Ifrit.

Mortis was the first to act. He lunged out at Ifrit and swung his spear at the demonic face. Ifrit quickly ducked the blow and then swung his massive clawed fist into Mortis's stomach, sending him flying and tumbling out of the way.

Bakusa jumped forward in a ducked stance and tried to uppercut the large beast. The blow connected, but Ifrit responded with a deep bellow and quickly surrounded himself in a wall of flames. Bakusa jumped back and as soon as the flames died down, he jumped again at the beast, bringing his right leg around in a sweeping roundhouse. Ifrit blocked the kick with his left forearm and then slammed Bakusa back with an open palm.

Loran jumped onto one of the rocks and then flipped over the demon while slashing at his head with her swords. The two attacks glanced off of the beast's horns, making it twist its head in annoyance. Loran landed on her feet and again hurled herself at the monster, but this time it again surrounded itself in a wall of flame. Loran was able to pull herself back and avoided a massive swing from the beast's right arm that struck the ground with an earth shaking impact. With the amount of time that she had she was able to scramble over the rocks and made it back to the main group.

Sephiroth watched as each of his squad members tried to attack, the entire time watching the movements of Ifrit. Once Loran was done with her attack, he quickly lunged forward and brought his sword crashing in from his left. Ifrit was able to block the attack with his right forearm, but the blade bit deep into its thick hide. With a great speed that the beast was not anticipating, Sephiroth quickly brought his blade in for another attack from the right, then he swung down at it's head, and then followed up with a swinging uppercut. Ifrit was only barely able to block the blows, but each one left its dark mark on its body.

After Sephiroth landed the last blow, he flipped backwards just in time to avoid the wall of flame that he knew Ifrit was going to erect. The flames were hot, much hotter than anything that he had ever experienced. From the previous times that it had used its flame wall, Sephiroth was able to judge just how long the wall would remain up, and he timed his next attack perfectly. As soon as the flame wall fell, Sephiroth quickly brought his blade in for another set off attacks. But this time Ifrit had changed its tactics. Instead of staying on the defense, Ifrit shifted to the offense. As Sephiroth flew towards it, Ifrit formed a massive ball of flame and hurled it at Sephiroth. With barely any time for warning, Sephiroth jumped out of the way, but the flaming ball singed the left side of his coat.

As they watched on from the safety of a large rock, Locke frantically tried to remove the materia orbs that he had junctioned to his pistols. "What are you doing?" Bakusa yelled over the sound of Ifrit screaming as Sephiroth cut into its hide again.

"I'm trying to remove the fire materia I have on these. They're combined with an Elemental and that's why I can't attack this thing!"

"Well that's great! Why don't you just heal the damn thing!" Bakusa yelled as a fireball careened over his head and struck the wall.

"Well I must have missed the memo that said today's crazed ninja was going to transform into a flame demon!" Locke yelled back as he finally replaced the fire materia with ice. He looked over the rock and took aim at the creature's back. Quickly he unloaded the pistols into the thing's back, but the only response he received was a ravenous cry and the beast turned to hurl a massive fireball at their direction. Locke let out a curse and ducked behind the rock with just enough time to avoid the blast.

When the flames had died down, Sephiroth jumped over the rock and ducked with the rest of his group, now all assembled. He was now covered with sweat and soot but his eyes were as fierce as ever.

"We're going to have to do a coordinated attack. When I get on the other side of it, anyone who has an ice materia blast it in its back. I'll attack it when it turns around and finish it off." Everyone nodded and got ready.

Sephiroth jumped over the rock and quickly swung at the beast. The creature again avoided the blow and tried to hit Sephiroth with a flaming attack. Sephiroth jumped out of the way and landed behind another of the large rocks.

Loran, Locke, and Bakusa then attacked Ifrit from behind with a combined blast from their ice materia. The attack hit Ifrit in the back, obviously causing severe damage. Ifrit turned around and bellowed its challenge and then began to charge.

Sephiroth smirked at his opening and ran forward with his blade tip dragging on the ground, causing a trail of sparks to fall off of the tip. But before the attack could land, Ifrit turned around and blasted Sephiroth with a continuous column of flame. The attack was unexpected, but Sephiroth fought against the blast and continued to push forward, but the effort was causing him to grind his teeth and tremble against the force of the blast.

Loran looked over the rock and saw the predicament that he was in. As she watched, Sephiroth began to sneer even more so than before, and his eyes became illuminated with the ferocity of his determination. Sephiroth let out a battle roar, and he was able to dispel the flame attack and charged at Ifrit. Before the beast could react, Sephiorth's blade passed through the middle of the demon, leaving only two smoking halves of the creature on the ground. As the beast gave a silent roar of defeat, the body dissolved into red fog and the dismembered form of the red headed ninja took its place.

Loran had to do a double take at what she had just seen. For a split second before the flame attack ended, she could have swore she saw Sephiroth's eyes change; the pupils seemed to become elongated, like that of a cat. She, along with the rest of the group, ran up to Sephiroth once the creature was defeated. She looked at his eyes, but they were the normal Mako infused emeralds that she was used to seeing.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. He dusted a layer of soot off of his arm and shrugged his soot covered shoulder pauldrons.

"A little singed, but nothing a shower wouldn't fix." Mortis walked up and inspected the upper half of the dead ninja. He found the remnants of the Ifrit materia in a necklace. The orb of materia was wasted, the red color was now only a faint pink and the orb had a large crack running through the center. He stood back up just in enough time to catch the quick movement of someone above them on the ledge.

"Get to cover!" he yelled just in time. From above, all the remaining Brotherhood ninjas began to fire down on them with their assault rifles. Sephiroth and his group were quick and they got to cover behind one of the large rocks. Bullets were ricocheting off of the rock and the walls, but they were safe behind their cover.

"How're we going to get out of this one?" Bakusa asked. Locke pulled a small grenade from his belt and held it forward with a smirk.

"Smoke grenade. I took it from the _Prima Vista_," he said. He then pulled the pin, and hurled it over the rock. Within five seconds, they heard the explosive pop and soon the entire chamber was full of thick white smoke. The ninjas above lightened up their fire, but some were still firing randomly into the smoke. Mortis lightly stood up and pointed towards the exit.

"Make your way out of here. I'm going to set the generator for overload and blow this whole place to hell. I'll follow after I set the thing." Sephiroth nodded and quickly led the group out through the exit. The corridor was small, or at least compared to the large space of the chamber. Soon they entered a smaller chamber with a slight rise towards the center. There the earth had a slight purple hue and the veins of purple tinted Mako ran from the center outwards. Sephiroth assumed that this was the spot where the Huge Materia had sat, but there was nothing that he could do about that now. The bright light from the sun was coming in from the opposite side of the chamber, so they began to make their way there.

As Sephiroth passed the center of the chamber, he heard the sound of a battle cry coming from the corridor they had just exited. He briefly turned around and could hear the sound of rapid machine gun fire. He knew that the battle cry belonged to Mortis. He was about to turn to go and help, but the floor began to rumble and he knew that the generator was about to go critical.

He ran out of the chamber and was able to jump clear just as a massive wall of exploding flame shot out of the cave mouth and the sound of the inner mine collapsing followed by another wall of dust and debris let him know that the mine had collapsed.

For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone's attention was focused on the cave mouth, where the dust cloud was slowly subsiding. The realization hit them all at the same time. There was no way that anyone had survived the blast or the collapse. Still, Locke had to ask.

"Do you think anyone made it out of there?" Sephiroth thought about it for a moment, and then lightly shook his head.

"No, I don't think anyone could have." With that one statement, everyone knew that Mortis, the old member of SOLDIER, was dead. Sephiroth let a moment pass where he collected himself and then began to walk towards the south.

"Come on, we better get moving." Everyone looked up and nodded, more mechanically than by any other means, and they all began to walk back towards the bridge, and then back to Costa del Sol.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Chapter 13 is here! Since the question was asked in a review, I figured I could answer it here so everyone could know what the answer is. The Murasame that Sephiroth has at this point in the story is not the same sword as the Masamune. The Murasame was the katana sword that Cloud could buy in Wutai in FF7. But don't worry, the Masamune will appear before the story ends;)

* * *

Chapter XIII

On the _Prima Vista_, Sephiroth ordered the Captain to set course for the Midgar Port Authority, a small port on the northern side of Midgar about 10 kilometers outside of the metropolis. Normally this port only held a few of the aristocrats' yachts and the ferry that traveled to Junon because the port was too shallow for major ocean cruisers like the _Prima Vista_. However, the ship could drop anchor in deeper waters and a smaller boat could come out and take anyone aboard to the port. Sephiroth wanted to get to Midgar as soon as possible, because he had a suspicion that there was a mole.

"So let me get this straight, you think there's a mole in Shinra?" Locke asked. They were all in the privacy of their cabin, all sitting around the main room in a circle.

"A mole? You think Hojo has a mole in his lab? What does that have to do with the ninjas?" Bakusa asked as he looked up from his simple plate of food.

"Oh pay attention Bakusa. He thinks there's a mole in the company sending information to the Brotherhood," Loran said as she shook her head in annoyance. Sephiroth leaned back against the bulkhead and crossed his arms.

"A mole can be the only explanation. That Brotherhood group we just encountered was much larger than the last, much more than they would have needed to retrieve the Huge Materia. I think they were tipped off and sent that large group to take us out of the picture." Locke thought about that for a moment and then shook his head.

"If they wanted to take us out of the picture, then why didn't they just do that while we were knocked unconscious? I think that they might have wanted to get information out of us." Sephiroth nodded and brushed his long hair behind his shoulder.

"But what would they have wanted from us? It's not like we know much of Shinra's secrets or anything," Bakusa said as he continued to chew on his food.

"We do know something that they want," Sephiroth said as he sat up.

"What's that?" Loran asked.

"We know the location of the other Huge Materias." A moment of silence fell over them as they thought about what he had just said.

"But wait, I thought they knew where the one we just left was at since they ambushed us," Locke said as he tried to make sense out of it all.

"They knew where it was at because they were tipped off, whether from someone on this ship or someone on the docks, it doesn't really matter now. But they don't know where the others are at, otherwise they would have just killed us when they had the chance. Wutai doesn't have the in depth knowledge of Mako like Shinra does. I think they stumbled on the one they have on their continent, and must have found the blue one by accident. That could explain why it took them so long to remove it and how we were able to stop them."

"So if they don't know where the others are at, then we could just retrieve them at our own pace," Loran said with a smile. Sephiroth looked at her and shook his head disapprovingly.

"No, it'd be foolish to think that they would just sit back and give up and let us retrieve them. They're going to find another way to get them, one way or the other. The only thing we can do is get them faster than they can," Sephiroth said as he took out a rag and wiped his Murasame down.

"I still want to know just what they plan on using the things for," Bakusa said as he put his now empty plate down. Sephiroth lightly nodded and continued to clean his sword.

"You and me both."

* * *

The _Prima Vista_ slowed her engines and coasted for ten minutes before dropping anchor at the designated point a kilometer out from the Midgar Port Authority. The small scout boat approached quickly, leaving a white foaming wake as she jumped over the swells. Sephiroth and his group stood on the main deck and watched the boat as it came along the port side of the _Prima Vista_ and threw out a line to the deck hands that quickly tied the line to the jug heads and hauled in the scout boat to where it was right up against the gangway.

Sephiroth walked down the aluminum gangway and stepped onto the scout boat. Once everyone was aboard the small boat, the deck hands undid the lines, tossed them back to the boat, and the Skipper gunned the motor and pulled away from the _Prima Vista_. The scout boat was fast, and soon it was hopping over the waves and crashing down onto the swells. The sea mist sprayed over the bow and wetted their hair, but the fresh sea smell was invigorating. Soon they were entering the No Wake Zone and the Skipper dropped her speed and they entered the MPA.

The boat pulled up against the dock and a few long shoremen caught the lines and affixed the boat to the dock. Sephiroth and his group jumped onto the dock and saw the awaiting military truck that was going to take them to Midgar. They got in, and the familiar bumpy ride of the style of truck filled their spines with an unwanted jolt.

After a few minutes, that were honestly a smooth ride since the truck was driving on a paved road, entered Midgar. The truck engine struggled and the driver had to downshift to get the truck to pass up the large bridge that led up to the plate. Once there, it was only a matter of driving across a few streets and through a few tunnels before they arrived at the entrance to the Shinra Complex.

Sephiroth and the others got out of the truck and entered the familiar building. A few of the receptionists saw them and pointed in awe, but they did not pay them much mind as they entered the elevator.

Once they were on the 59th floor, Sephiroth told the others to go to the lounge on the next floor up while he went and gave his report to the President. When he reached the 69th floor he started to make his way towards the stairs, but he was stopped when Heidegger called him.

"Sephiroth my boy, come here. The President's at his Villa in Costa del Sol for a vacation, so you can give your report to me." Sephiroth lightly sighed in annoyance, but followed the bearded buffoon into his office. Heidegger plopped down into his overly stuffed naugahyde chair and kicked his legs onto his candy wrapper covered desk. Sephiroth tried to hide his sneer of disgust, but he did not think he hid it well.

"So, where's the Huge Thing-a-ma-bob?"

"We weren't able to retrieve it. Members of the Brotherhood ambushed us and made us prisoners. We were able to escape, but they had already removed the Huge Materia. Mortis was lost in action." Heidegger lightly nodded and sat up in his chair, removing his legs from his desk.

"That's bad news. Mortis was a good SOLDIER, he'll be missed." Sephiroth could hear the tone of Heidegger's voice that signaled that he really could have cared less about any losses, but it was a mechanical reaction that was expected of him. "So what are you going to do now?"

"We're going to keep going after the other Materias, but we're going to need a faster mode of transportation. I have reason to believe that the Brotherhood may not know where the other Materias are at, but just in case I think we should head for the one in the North East. That island is far away from any Shinra naval patrols and is closer to Wutai than the other. They'd have an easier time getting to it. But even if they don't know where the others are located, we still need to retrieve them as quickly as possible." Heidegger nodded and picked up the receiver to his phone.

"I think I have just the thing you need," he said as he dialed the private number to the President's Villa. As the phone rang, Heidegger gave Sephiroth a foolhardy smile and then looked down at the surface of his desk as he waited for the President to answer. On the other line, the annoyed voice of the President answered.

"Ah, yes sir, this is Heidegger… No sir, they weren't able to get it, they were ambushed by those ninjas… Well he thinks they don't know where the other Thing's are at… He wants a faster mode of transportation to get him to the other spots, I was thinking about the…" At this point, the muffled voice of the President became louder as he yelled through the phone. Sephiroth could not make out what he was saying, but he could tell it was not pleasant. "Well yes sir I understand but… Well I'm sure he has nothing else to do… Palmer was looking for a pilot for the… Yes sir… Yes sir, I'll get right on it."

Heidegger hung up the phone and gave a fake smile to Sephiroth. "All right, the President has okayed the use of the _Highwind_, Shinra's airship we have stationed in Junon. A helicopter will be leaving at," Heidegger consulted his overly tacky wristwatch, "1100. It'll take you to Junon. Be at the Executive Helipad." Sephiroth nodded and left the office. The more and more he hung around these Executive members, the more he hated their presence.

* * *

While Sephiroth was giving his report to Heidegger, the other members of his squad were sitting around in the main lounge for the Shinra employees. The lounge was ornately designed with marble floors and large fake trees surrounding the cafeteria tables. Several employees were sitting around, either eating or conversing about their work.

Bakusa was sitting on a table while Locke and Loran sat at the chairs like civilized people. Bakusa was checking out the females in the lounge, winking at them if they caught him staring. Locke was chewing on his toothpick as he listened to Loran.

"Neither of you saw it? I'm telling you, something funny happened with his eyes when he was fighting that thing." Locke gave a reassuring look at Loran and lightly shook his head.

"I don't think you saw anything. There was a lot of heat in that room with that Ifrit throwing fireballs around and all. Maybe what you saw was just an effect from the heat."

"I'm telling you I know what I saw! His eyes changed!" Loran said loudly enough to where the people around them stopped their own conversations and then stared at her. She took in a breath to calm herself and crossed her arms in annoyance.

Across the lounge area, her outburst had caught the attention of Professor Hojo, who was passing through the lounge on his way to the stairwell. He raised an eyebrow in question and waddled over to the group of SOLDIERs. Bakusa was the first to see him coming and he tried to warn the others, but they only thought he was making strange hand signs for his health.

"What are you doing?" Locke asked Bakusa, who now gave up his efforts since Hojo was directly behind the others.

"I couldn't help but overhear your outburst young lady. What do you think you saw?" Hojo asked with a sickly sweet sounding tone. Loran turned around and shook her head.

"I didn't think I saw anything, I know I saw it." Hojo nodded and placed his hands behind his back.

"Ah, well what did you see?" Loran thought for a moment and then turned back around.

"Forget about it, you're probably going to think that I'm crazy too." Hojo walked to the head of the table to look at Loran from the side.

"I'm the scientist here, I'll be the judge as to if you're crazy." Loran thought about it for a second and then let out a sigh of resignation.

"Well, when we were fighting the Ifrit summon, Sephiroth attacked it, but Ifrit counter attacked with a fire assault. Sephiroth fought it, and just before he broke through, I saw his eyes change. They became… cat like I guess would be the best way to describe them." When she was done explaining, Hojo gave her a contemplative look and did not speak. Loran slumped her shoulders and shook her head in defeat.

"So you think I'm crazy too?" Hojo came out of his trance of thought and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"No, you're not crazy. What you saw was just an effect of the heat waves, nothing more. I wouldn't keep dwelling on such a thing; it's not good for your health," Hojo said and then began to walk back towards the stairwell.

As he entered the stairwell, a devilish grin crossed his face. "Slanted pupils… Just like Jenova…" Soon he gave a maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the stairwell. When he was done laughing, he removed his glasses from his head and wiped them on his filthy lab coat. "Yet another theory I can test."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Peanuckle has brought it to my attention that I have used the wrong vocabulary word, and instead of leaving it as it was, I've changed it to the right one. Now that that embarassing news is out of the way, the rest of the chapter remains as it did before.

* * *

Chapter XIV

At 1100, Sephiroth and his squad were assembled on the President's personal helicopter pad on the 70th floor of the Shinra building. The large Mark IIB Shinra Helicopter whirled down to the helipad in a flurry of wind, sending small particles of dirt and dust to go flying away from its massive four spinning blades. The Mark IIB was much larger than the standard helicopter employed by Shinra, but the Mark IIB benefited from having the large fuel tank, something that would be needed for a nonstop flight to Junon.

As the helicopter came to a rest on the helipad, the co-pilot open the large sliding door on the side and motioned for them to approach. Sephiroth lightly nodded and ducked as he made his way to the idling helicopter. Once they were all inside, and were strapping themselves into their seats, Sephiroth gave the signal for them to lift off. The co-pilot shook his head though, and leaned forward as he yelled to overcome the loud drone of the propellers and turbine engine.

"No sir, we have orders that one more passenger is to make the trip." Sephiroth let out an annoyed sigh and nodded. As if he were right on cue, the obese form of Palmer came waddling onto the helipad and made a failed attempt to run towards the helicopter. When he finally reached the open door, his flushed red face tried to smile through his forced labored breaths. Once he was in, the co-pilot slid the door closed and fixed the latch, then climbed into his seat next to the pilot. With a whir of the turbine engine and a quickened pulse from the blades, the helicopter began to lift off and departed Midgar in the midday sunlight.

Palmer wiped down his sweat soaked face and placed his stained handkerchief back into his stretched breast pocket. Sephiroth sneered his disgust at the sad excuse for a human and tried to not look at him, but the man was so fat that he found this to be difficult to do. Palmer, when he finally caught his breath ten minutes after lift off, smiled a sickening grin at the silver haired SOLDIER.

"So Sephie, you able to retrieve the Huge Materia from those Wutai soldiers?" Sephiroth glared at Palmer for the disgustingly girly name he had just called him. Palmer caught the glare head on, and the fake smile from his face disappeared and he began to sweat profusely again.

"Nobody calls me that, or any other nickname for that matter," Sephiroth said as he continued to glare at Palmer. Palmer tried to smile, but he felt as if something was stuck in his throat, so he tugged at his collar in a sad attempt to become more comfortable. After another minute of the continuous glare, Sephiroth broke it off and closed his eyes. Palmer relaxed himself, and again tried to start a conversation.

"So, you're becoming quite famous. I'm sure people from all over recognize you right? I wish I could have that kind of fame," Palmer said as he forced a conversational laugh. Sephiroth opened his eyes briefly enough to speak.

"Maybe if you got off of your fat ass sometimes and tried to do something other than eat, the people might begin to recognize you too." Palmer's eyes opened wide and he was at a loss for words. Sephiroth closed his eyes again, and hoped that his comment would divert any further small talk from the not so small man.

* * *

Several hours later, Sephiroth lost count himself as he fell asleep in the helicopter, the Mark IIB began her decent through the hazy cloud cover that hung over the bronzed edifice of Junon. Loran pressed her face against the glass window and watched as the enormous landing platform came into focus through the thick haze. A multitude of blinking white lights, alternating every ten with a green one, lit the runways for the large cargo and other military planes.

The Mark IIB approached a deck officer who was signaling the helicopter down with two bright orange pylons. As the Helicopter set down, the co-pilot came into the passenger compartment and opened the hatch. Sephiroth lightly nodded to him and stepped out. His hair instantly began to flow in the brutal force of the still spinning blades, but he paid it no mind. Once everyone was out, including the still sweating bulk that was Palmer, Sephiroth began to lead the group onto the main tarmac.

It was then that a young man, probably in his late twenties, came walking up to them. Sephiroth looked him over in the usual militaristic fashion that he always did, saving the information for any future use. The young man was blonde, and his skin was a dark tan. His face was rather blocky and was covered with a dark 5 o'clock shadow. He wore flight goggles on the top of his head, where he also kept a pack of Shinra brand cigarettes. He wore a typical blue flight suit, but he had the upper body part pulled down around his waist, showing his blue undershirt. Sephiroth could see that he was a military officer, but not one who was directly commissioned. This man had worked his way up through the ranks. Still, there was something about the guy that Sephiroth did not like.

"What the hell brings a Mark IIB all the way out here for? You got a damn fire I don't know about?" the young officer said. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the rough language of the young man, but he did not comment to him. Palmer stepped forward and gave the young man one of his fake smiles as he placed his arm around him. Palmer took the man a few steps away and spoke quietly to him to a point where Sephiroth could not hear them. But once the message was across, anyone on the tarmac could hear the young officer's response.

"JUST WHAT IN THE &$ DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE TAKING MY &#$ AIRSHIP AWAY!?!?!? YOU &#!& PEOPLE THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU RUN THE WHOLE &$ PLANET THAT YOU CAN JUST BARGE IN HERE AND TAKE WHATEVER THE #$# YOU WANT!?!?!?!" Sephiroth watched as the man's veins began to bulge out on his forehead as he screamed his protest to the fat sweaty ball of lard. Palmer shook his head and tried to calm the man down, but he had to nearly yell at the same volume so he could get his point across.

"Now now, just listen! Even though Shinra is requisitioning the _Highwind_, that doesn't mean that you're being demoted or kicked out of the company. In fact, that's why I'm here. In exchange for the airship, we'll make you the top technician for the Space Program. That means you'll be the first man into outer space!" When he said this, the young man stopped his yelling and raised an eyebrow as he thought about it. His flushed face began to return to its natural color, and his vein subsided. As if it would help his thoughts, he took a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and took in a long drag before he exhaled the thick blue smoke through his nostrils. He shrugged, and then offered his hand forward.

"Well, I can't say I like to see the Ol' girl go, but being the first man in space sure sounds like a damn opportunity that I can't miss." Palmer smiled and shook the man's hand. Palmer then nodded for Sephiroth and the others to approach. When they got closer, Palmer gave another one of his fake smiles and introduced everyone to the young man.

"Sephiroth, this is Captain Cid Highwind, Captain, this is Captain Sephiroth." Cid looked over Sephiroth for a moment and then nodded his head. He turned to head towards the airship dock that was on the far end of the tarmac. As he walked, he made a motion with his hand for the others to follow him. Sephiroth nodded to his squad and they all followed Cid towards the tethered airship.

The _Highwind_ was a marvel of modern technology. She was equipped with several high powered engines that operated off of Mako energy. Her hull was emblazoned with shiny aluminum paneling, and on her sides were painted the figures of a pin up girl with the words High Wind painted in red script. Around the cargo area were several of the ship's crew, busily seeing that the stores were brought on board and were properly documented. Several of them saw Cid approaching and gave him a salute. He returned the gesture and called the crew over for a briefing. They all quickly came over and came to attention. Cid let them stand at ease, and then with his hands behind his back, he began to pace in front of them as he gave them the news.

"Listen up men, there's been a change in plans. As of this moment, I am no longer the Commanding Officer of the _Highwind_, that's now in the hands of Commander Prescott. As for me, I've been selected to head the Space Program, and am going to be the first man in outer space." At this, his men gave a triumphant cheer, not at loosing their Captain, but at the fact that he was going to be the first man in space. Cid let them cheer for a moment, and then waved them down with his hand.

"Now just because I'm not here, that's no damned excuse for you guys to start slacking off! The first moment I hear about anyone serving aboard the _Highwind_ and not giving anything but 100, I'll come back down here and personally kick all of your sorry !&$ asses! You got me?!?"

"Yes Sir!" all of the crewmen answered in loud unison as the snapped a salute. Cid nodded, gave one final salute to the men, and then dismissed them. The highest ranking officer still present approached Cid and shook his hand.

"I hate to see you go sir, but you can rest assured that the _Highwind_ is in good hands."

"It better be Prescott, or I'll hear about it." Cid then gave one final look over his airship, and then followed Palmer to the helicopter. Sephiroth watched him go and sympathized for the man. This ship must have been everything to him, and to let it go was a hard thing to do. Sephiroth himself knew that if he had to give up being in SOLDIER he would probably be equally as lost, after all it was all he had known for the past nine years.

"So I'm to understand that Shinra has put the _Highwind_ under your command?" Cmdr. Prescott asked Sephiroth. Sephiroth broke out of his thoughts and lightly nodded.

"The ship will be under your command; we'll only be giving you a destination that we need to reach." Prescott nodded, and waved his hand towards the entry ramp.

"Well if you'll enter the ship, we can be underway in just a few minutes." Sephiroth nodded and he, followed by his squad, made their way into the _Highwind_. Inside, the ship was a mass of pipes and valves that crisscrossed all over the bulkheads and overhead. Small areas of rust were present due to the steam and moisture in the air, but several crew members were working busily on maintenance work.

The entry ramp was located in the aft section of the lower secondary hull, and as they walked, Cmdr. Prescott pointed out the different sections of the ship. "Over there is the entrance to the environmental stations and the stairwell that leads to the upper engine room in the primary hull. Through this corridor," he said as he pointed to a long hallway with several doors that ran the width of the ship, "is the cabin areas. Your rooms are being prepared in there. Sorry, none of them have a view of the outside, she wasn't really built to be a pleasure ship. Now if you all will follow me, I'll show you the main section of the ship."

He opened a sliding metal door and then entered what appeared to be a large chamber. The doorway was below a large metal staircase that led up to the second floor. Prescott commented that the doorway at the top of the stairs led out onto the main deck. On the lower floor he pointed out a briefing room which he said had a direct radio-television feed to Midgar. Along a metal platform was the entrance to the bridge. They followed the Commander in here and watched as the crew, each attending their own station, began to go through the preflight maneuvers. Once Prescott had made sure that the ship was ready to go, he called Sephiroth over to a large map table where an electronic map was displayed over a large light table. Using knobs and switches, he was able to move the area of focus on the table and zoom in on sectors of the map.

Sephiroth quickly moved the focused section to the North East, and pointed the area out of the Round Island. Prescott nodded, and began to do some rough calculations with several instruments that Sephiroth had never seen before. After a few minutes of this, Prescott looked up and called out to his navigator.

"Mr. Mao, set course for bearing 035, mark 015. Take us up to a height of 1,000 meters."

"Aye, aye Sir!" Mr. Mao the navigator said as he began to dial in the coordinates. Gently the _Highwind_ took off with only the barely noticeable feeling of inertia, and then turned to starboard. She quickly began to pick up speed and pulled up through the hazy sky. After a few minutes she broke through the cloud barrier, bringing a few of the clinging wisps along with her. After only a few minutes, she was clearly out of site of Junon and was on her way to the Round Island.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter XV

Sephiroth stood on the bridge of the _Highwind_, looking out of the large glass front of the secondary hull while thinking about nothing in particular. Behind him, the bridge crew dutifully carried out their functions, the only sound being their flicking of switches or the scribbling of pens as they filled out their logs. Below, he could see the forms of rocky islands pass by, but whether there was anything on them or not he could not discern since they were traveling at a height of 2,400 meters and climbing steadily.

Behind him he heard the boot impacts of Cmdr. Prescott approaching, so he turned around from the amazing view and acknowledged the new Captain of the _Highwind_. "Captain," Sephiroth said as he lightly nodded. He knew the naval tradition that any officer, regardless of rank, when under the command of a vessel held the title of captain. Prescott smiled, but shook his head as he stood next to Sephiroth.

"No, I'm still just a Commander. There'll only be one Captain of the _Highwind_, even if he's not here." Sephiroth thought about the amazing camaraderie this crew had, and of the high level of respect that everyone had for Captain Highwind. Sephiroth nodded his understanding, and Cmdr. Prescott pointed out the large map that was displayed on the navigational screen.

"We've plotted an elliptical course that'll bring us to the designation you've selected within 13 hours. I'm afraid that that's the fastest that we can get you there at present speed." Sephiroth nodded, and although the time frame was adequate, he still asked about the performance of the _Highwind_.

"We're not traveling at top speed?"

"No sir, presently we're traveling at about 70 of her maximum. That's the fastest maintainable speed for a long set of time. She can travel faster, but not for too great of a distance before the engines overheat and have to be cooled down." Sephiroth nodded and looked over the bridge crew.

"Very well. Inform me when we arrive at the island, I'll be in my quarters." Prescott gave a quick salute, and after Sephiroth returned the gesture, he left the bridge to go find the other members of his squad.

Across the metal grating bridge that passed over a myriad of conduits and pipelines, he turned to head towards the briefing room. The doors quickly slid open with a hydraulic hiss. Inside, Locke was standing by the far wall looking at a monitor that was displaying the world map. He turned around to see who had entered, and nodded to his captain. Sephiroth walked over to him and looked at the map as well.

"Commander Prescott says we'll arrive in 13 hours. I suggest you get some rest and be ready when we arrive." Locke nodded, and turned away from the monitor.

"Yeah, I could use a break I guess. Couldn't sleep on that helicopter, something about being that close to that fatman that makes me think he's going to eat me." Sephiroth let out a dry single humph, and smirked at the joke. Sephiroth was about to leave the room when Locke began to speak again.

"I was just thinking about Mortis. It was a shame that he had to go out that way." Sephiroth looked at Locke, who was now sitting at the large table with his hands on the table with his fingers intertwined. Sephiroth could see that the death of Mortis was playing heavily on Locke, and could feel that he had to say something about the fallen. Sephiroth hated these situations, even though he should have been used to them by now, seeing as he had had members of his squad die in battle more times than he cared to count. The last time he had to deal with this was when the young SOLDIER, Edgar, had been killed in action. Sephiroth never saw Edgar's body, but then there was no reason for it; the young man had no family so he was quickly taken for cremation. That was what the Shinra did with all fallen soldiers if they had no family. Of course, with Mortis, a cremation would not be necessary. Sephiroth broke away from his thoughts and saw that Locke was still sitting there looking depressed, and tried to think of something to say.

"Well, Mortis was a SOLDIER, one of the first. If he could keep up with the B.S. for that long, he must have been a warrior through and through. I'm sure if he had to choose a way to die, he would have wanted it to be in the heat of battle, not of old age in a bed." Locke nodded, and after a moment, he stood up and stretched his arms high behind his head.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's how he would have wanted to go. And besides, if you buy into religion, he's returned to the planet, or something like that," Locke said as he yawned and began to head towards the metal door. Sephiroth shrugged and followed him out of the door. In the life that he had led, he never really had a place for religion.

Out in the large mechanical chamber, Locke headed towards the door that led to the cabins, while Sephiroth saw Bakusa walking around in a room to his left. Sephiroth walked over to this room and stopped in the doorway. The smell coming from the room was strange, like damp dried grass and a strange smell that reminded Sephiroth of a farm. Bakusa saw Sephiroth's face of disgust at the smell and shrugged.

"Apparently this is a room where they can keep Chocobos. There's none here right now, but we could rent some from the Chocobo Ranch and keep them here," Bakusa said as he took in a deep breath of the farm smell. Sephiroth shook his head and stepped back away from the room.

"I wouldn't be caught dead riding a giant chicken, and besides, we don't have time to be making any detours. We arrive at the island in 13 hours. Be ready." After Sephiroth was finished talking, he stepped away from the room and coughed as he tried to rid himself of the strange smell. He decided that he needed to get some fresh air, so he made his way up the staircase and went out onto the main deck.

Once he stepped onto the wooden deck, the fresh breeze caressed his face and he took in a deep breath of the fresh breeze. "The air is a lot nicer up here isn't it?" Sephiroth opened his eyes and saw Loran leaning on the railing, looking in his direction. Sephiroth nodded and leaned on the railing next to her, looking down at the vivid blue mirror below him. She looked over the side at the water below, and she decided to voice her thoughts that she had been mulling over since she came up here.

"You know, I was thinking about that fight with Ifrit," she said in a manner that showed that she wanted to have a conversation about it. Sephiroth nodded, and thought that she wanted to talk about Mortis as well.

"What about it?" he asked in a manner that was neither threatening nor sarcastic. She waited a moment to speak, causing Sephiroth to look over at her to see if she was all right. She turned to face him with a look of concern on her face.

"What happened during that final attack on it?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her question, and looked towards the clouds as he thought about an answer. After a moment, he shrugged and looked back at her.

"I guess it was a Limit Breaker. I remember struggling against it's attack and then suddenly it was if I had gotten a second wind. I felt a rush in my strength and speed, and the force that it was projecting against me suddenly became easier to deal with."

"A Limit Breaker?" Loran asked at the funny sounding term. Sephiroth smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's a funny sounding term and I don't know who came up with it. But basically it's a move of desperation, or at least that's what the term is supposed to mean. However there's some that now call any special technique in combat a Limit Breaker, so I guess it could be used to describe any powerful attack. Over the years I've learned a few special techniques, but I've rarely had to use them. However, I would say that during the fight with Ifrit, that was definitely a move of desperation." Loran nodded, but was still troubled by something.

"You've never done anything like that before?" she asked more quietly than before.

"No. In fact, that was about the toughest fight I've been in for awhile." Loran looked up and cocked her head at the comment.

"You've been in a tough fight like that before?" Sephiroth stared out at the clouds and did not speak for some time. Loran could see the events being replayed in his emerald green Mako eyes.

"Once, when I was a child," Sephiroth said softly, still in his own world. Sephiroth blinked and looked slightly at the caring face of Loran. "But that's not important. We arrive at the island in 13 hours. Get some rest and something to eat and be ready by then." Sephiroth then quickly turned around and left the main deck. Loran looked at the closed hatch and began to wonder a totally new question. What was he like as a child? He could not have been the legendary warrior that he is now as a child; that much was for sure. But what kind of childhood could a man like him have had that would have made him become the warrior that he is now? Loran turned back around and gazed off into the distance as she thought about this new question.

* * *

Sephiroth closed the door to his small quarters and sat on the end of the bed. His eyebrows came together as he thought about those days long past. How long had it been since he thought about his youth? However long it had been, he had his reasons for not liking them.

The earliest memories he had were of the orphanage that Shinra financed in Midgar. He remembered that it was a miserable place, over crowded with children that's parents had died either in conflicts with other nations as Shinra conquered, or a mass of other unfortunate situations that always play out in the world. He never liked it there, and the other children did not help that feeling. As a child he was always teased and picked on, not because he was weak or frail, but because he was always strong and more intelligent than the others. The only pleasure he took was in the class rooms, where he learned military history and analyzed old battle strategies for their strong points and weaknesses.

Very few people ever took interest in the orphans, but there were a few who would constantly come by and check up on them. One of these was Professor Gast, who Sephiroth especially liked, because he always seemed to care about how Sephiroth was doing in his classes and would talk to him as if he was an adult. He also always brought cookies. However, there were others who would come that he would soon come to hate. One of these was Professor Hojo. He rarely spoke to Sephiroth as if he were a person, but only would bark out orders in his sickening voice that was reminiscent of fingernails being dragged on a chalkboard. He was constantly checking him for any changes, and was always taking blood samples that he said were for "research". There were even times when Hojo would take a group of the children and would induce electric shock treatments to see their tolerances. Sephiroth hated those days, since he had a stronger resistance to the shocks than the other kids, so he had to withstand the "treatments" far longer. It became a common practice for the orphans to send a warning around the playground once the white van parked outside. It was a signal that more tests from the scientists were going to be done.

It was on one of these days that Sephiroth was called out of class when he was 9 years old and was told to report to the playground. When he got there, all the children were gone and all the fences were now boarded up. He thought that it was odd that the fence was now shut off from any view of the outside, but went into the center of the playground none the less. It was then that the creature attacked.

It was a guard hound, purple in color with a bright orange tentacle-like whip on his head. Where most children would have run in fear, Sephiroth had stood strong, and acted quickly. Even now he could barely remember how he did it, but somehow he was able to bring the beast down with his bare hands. He remembered that once the creature fell, he heard a sickening laughter coming from a window above, and he just made out the rough features of Professor Hojo.

Sephiroth, now cringing at the memory of the laughter, shook the ghosts of his past away and laid down on the bed. It was funny how he could vividly recall that day, even though it was nearly 13 years ago.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter XVI

Sephiroth was not sure for how long he had lain there on his bunk staring at the ceiling, but he awoke with the sound of someone knocking on his door. He came to full wakefulness and sat up. He briskly ran his hand over his face and stood to answer the door. Standing there was a young crewmember of the _Highwind_, who quickly gave a salute. Sephiroth lightly nodded in response and waited for the young man to speak.

Sir, Commander Prescott wanted me to tell you that we are on final approach to the island now, sir," the crewman said nervously and still at salute. Sephiroth briskly nodded and stepped into the corridor. The crewman still stood there at attention, so Sephiroth let out a breath in annoyance and looked at the crewman.

"You're dismissed." The crewman saluted again and briskly walked away, looking glad that he no longer had to speak to the SOLDIER. Sephiroth sighed, knowing that it would not be the last time something like that would happen. Young military personnel always behaved that way around high-ranking officers, or in Sephiroth's case, officers who had a reputation about them.

As Sephiroth made his way towards the bridge, his ears began to pop, signaling him that the ship was descending through the atmosphere. When he entered the large mechanical chamber, he saw his squad waiting at the doorway to the briefing room. He motioned for them to follow him to the bridge and they quickly caught up with him as his boots began to clang on the metal grating of the bridge across the pit of conduits and pipelines.

Once they passed through the hydraulic operated hatchway and entered the bridge, Commander Prescott looked up and nodded at Sephiroth. Sephiroth went to where he was standing, near the pilot of the ship, and looked down through the glass viewport at the thin wisping clouds as they caressed the hull of the _Highwind._

"We're descending now. According to the most detailed map of this region, the island should be coming into view… now," Cmdr. Prescott said as he nodded at the island that had materialized out of the dense cloud cover.

The island was surrounded in a thick haze that was not helped by the dark gray overcast sky. Large rock walls rose from the sea and projected high into the sky like towers careening to the heavens. Within the outer walls was a valley containing a thick forested area. In the back of his mind, a voice said that the island was probably the remnants of a volcano, but he did not think about it for too long. As the _Highwind_ approached the island, the pilot backed off on the engine speed and began to take the ship into a circling pattern. Sephiroth lightly looked to the Commander who then answered the unasked question.

"We're making a quick survey of the island to see if there's a suitable place to land the ship." Sephiroth nodded and continued to watch the island as they circled around it. As the _Highwind_ reached an angle that offered a better view of the interior of the island, he noticed that the thick fog obscured any deeper look into the thick forest interior. From the corner of his eye, he made out Cmdr. Prescott shaking his head and then giving the order for the pilot to idle the ship in position. Sephiroth turned to the Commander and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?"

"Slightly, it would seem that there's no suitable surface for the _Highwind_ to set down. We could bring the ship low enough to the tree tops and then lower a rope ladder for your team to climb down," Cmdr. Prescott said as an alternative. Sephiroth crossed his arms and looked down at the island for a moment before nodding his head.

"Giving the circumstances it would seem that we have no other choice. Keep the ship idling above the cloud cover until I call for EVAC on the PHS," Sephiroth said as he began to stride towards the hydraulic door. As he passed the Communications console, the young officer looked up and handed him a wireless communicator.

"Sir, the PHS won't get a signal out here, but take this. It'll put you in direct contact with the _Highwind_ sir." Sephiroth took the communicator and nodded. As he exited the bridge, the others fell into step behind him.

"Do you think there's going to be any of those Brotherhood guys here?" Bakusa asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"Why, you getting scared?" Sephiroth asked with a smirk.

"No, I'm just getting tired of riding in all these vehicles. I wanna see some action for a change." Sephiroth let out a short laugh and then began to climb the stairs.

"Just like a kid." As they exited the interior of the secondary hull and walked out onto the wooden deck, a young crewmember rolled the rope ladder off of the side and quickly gave a salute. The _Highwind_ was not yet at the tree top level, but she quickly descended and came to a graceful stop by the time Sephiroth began to climb down the ladder.

Once he was on the ground, he looked around and made sure that the coast was clear. Silently he gave the hand signal for the others to climb down, and after a minute, he gave the signal for the _Highwind_ to take off. Once the thrumming sound of the propellers of the engines died away in the distance, Locke spoke.

"So just where do we go from here?" Sephiroth pointed towards the northern end of the island.

"When we were circling, I thought I saw a cave in the north. We should look there first." Sephiroth then led the group in that direction. The foliage was surprisingly not thick, though the tree tops were immense and blocked much of the light that came from the overcast sky. The ground level though was only covered with dead leaves that squished under their feet. Overall, the terrain was quite monotonous, and if the communicator did not have a compass on it, they might have gotten lost.

After what seemed like an hour, the rising rock wall got closer and the entrance to a cave became visible through the fog. Sephiroth quickly raised a closed fist and the squad came to an abrupt but silent stop. He then pointed ahead and the others saw what had caused their captain to stop. Outside of the cave was a posted sentry, wearing the same black uniform of the Brotherhood that they had seen before.

Locke lightly slapped Bakusa on the back of the head and scowled at him. "Happy now?" Bakusa shrugged and raised his open hands as he shook his head. Sephiroth shot them both a glare and then looked at the sentry. There was a clearing before the cave opening, but it was too large for them to cross before the sentry could be immobilized. Locke could conceivably take him out with a pistol shot, but the sound would alert any others that might be in the vicinity. As he thought about the predicament, a solution came to his mind that made him smirk.

Silently he stood up and focused on his Lightning materia. He then quickly shot his hand out towards the sentry, sending a fiery bolt of lightning to careen through the air and struck the sentry. The sentry quickly shook as the 300,000,000 volts coursed through his body, frying all of his internal organs into one mass of smoking overcooked hash. When the bolt dissipated and the loud crack of thunder echoed through the valley, the smoking body of the dead sentry fell to the ground.

Locke shook his head and twirled the toothpick in his mouth. "Couldn't think of a more subtle approach?" Sephiroth lightly shrugged and then charged into the clearing. The rest of his squad quickly followed, though there was no need to. No other Brotherhood ninjas exited the cave or came running from the forest. After waiting a moment in the clearing, Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and began to make his way towards the cave, his guard never being lowered.

"Seems quiet," Loran commented in a whisper as they made their way to the entrance.

"Yeah, a little too quiet," Bakusa added. Locke looked over at Bakusa and gave him a look of pity for actually saying the old cliché. Bakusa did not notice however, and they then entered the confines of the dark cave.

Inside, much like the other caves, the chamber opened up into what appeared to be a single large room. Tree roots coursed through the walls, cracking the stone yet encasing the chamber in their thick intertwined net. Towards the far end of the chamber stood the large red pulsing Huge Materia, but as they stepped closer, a short yet muscular man stepped out from behind the crystal.

Though he was short, the Brotherhood ninja was coursing with thick muscular tissue. His head was streaked with a shockingly red mohawk and his left ear had a large gold loop earring. He wore no shirt and his pants were the loose baggy kind that the other ninjas wore. On his belt was a red materia orb that was built into the ornately designed gold buckle. As the ninja stepped forward, he began to laugh in a thick voice at them.

"You fools, you did exactly what the Leader said you would!" Sephiroth scowled, but decided to let the man give them any information.

"And what was that?" Sephiroth asked in a growl. This only made the ninja laugh even harder, but he quickly sliced his hand through the air and explained what he meant.

"Leader knew that you would come for this Materia, thinking that it was closer to Wutai and not as guarded. He purposely sent me here to kill you while another team recovers the last remaining crystal! A fine plan indeed!" Sephiroth scowled again, but yet was still able to hold back his attack.

"Just what do you want with these Huge Materia anyway?" The ninja let an enormous smile come across his face and he opened both of his hands to the sky.

"With the power from the Huge Materia, we will awaken the Great Ryuujin! Now he slumbers deep within the planet, but we will bring him into being and he will dispose of those who would oppose his power!" Sephiroth shook his head at the idea of awakening some sort of god, but the ninja now let out a ravenous laugh that filled the chamber with his booming cackle. Quickly the ninja stopped however, and gave the SOLDIERs a devilish glare.

"As glorious as it will be, you will not be alive to witness it!" The ninja then clinched his fists together and began to fill his body with concentrated energy. Soon the orb on his belt began to glow a fierce red glow that blinded the squad members. The red light enveloped the ninja and then in a fierce explosion of red light, transformed the ninja into the large raging bull known as Kjata.

Sephiroth had just enough time to jump out of the way as the immense bull charged, both of the razor sharp horns aimed low. The other members quickly jumped out of the way as the bull passed by, but it quickly turned around and stomped the ground with it's front hooves. Steam shot out of its nose and its fierce red eyes scanned the room for a victim.

Locke aimed both of his pistols at the bull and unleashed a fierce volley of molten lead at it, but the bullets seemed to do little harm to it. Kjata turned on Locke and charged, giving Locke not enough time to avoid the bull. While he barely missed the sharp point of the horn, the forehead of the bull hit him square in the stomach forcing all of the air out of his lungs. As he doubled over on top of the bull's head, Kjata kicked his head back, sending Locke flying head over heels over the bull and crashing onto the floor. Kjata turned around and charged, but Bakusa acted quickly.

Bakusa jumped onto the back of the bull and began to pummel it in the back of the head with his iron knuckled fists. Kjata shook his head to get Bakusa off, but he was able to hold on by grabbing a handful of the red mane. Kjata began to kick its rear legs out, and it was only a matter of seconds before Bakusa lost his grip and fell off.

Loran threw one of her short swords at the head of Kjata, but the spinning blade bounced off of one of the horns. The distraction did take the bull's focus off of Bakusa, but now the bull was in full charge towards Loran. Loran braced herself against a large root in the wall of the chamber and waited for when the bull was close, then kicked off of the wall and flipped over the bull. She landed behind the monster and slashed at its hide, but her blade did little damage to the thick skin. Kjata did notice the wound however, and kicked back with its rear legs, hitting Loran square in the stomach and sending her spiraling back until she landed with a breathtaking thud on the ground. Kjata turned and stamped its hoof before it began a charge towards her.

This time it was Sephiroth who distracted the bull. Quickly he jumped in the bull's path and swung his sword at the mighty horns. The blade dug deep into the horns, but did not cleave them off of its head. Kjata shook the blade away and began to charge trying to impale Sephiroth. However, Sephiroth had the better speed and was able to avoid the thrusts of the deadly points. Sephiroth began to become annoyed that he could not land an attack, but was rather occupied with deflected the thrusts from the horns. Risking a quick glance behind him he saw that the beast was about to pin him against a wall. In a split instance, he caught the gaze of the other members of his squad and gave a quick nod before he lunged high into the air.

Locke quickly opened up with a fresh set of magazines and emptied them into the flank of the summon. Kjata turned and was about to charge, but the moment of distraction was all that Bakusa needed. In a spinning motion that brought in the entirety of his strength, he hit Kjata in the side of the head with a devastating kick that would have broken the neck of a normal person. The impact hit Kjata hard, sending his head spinning in the other direction. Before it could recover, Loran quickly sliced both of her blades at the rear tendon of the bull's rear legs, severing all control to the beast's hooves. Kjata fell onto its hips, now supporting its entire weight on its front two legs.

It was then that Sephiroth came raging down towards the injured bull, readying his blade for a skewering maneuver. With a sickening harmonic twang, the blade of the Murasame pierced the hide of the bull and pinned it to the ground like a sickening display in a collection of animal species. The dieing and pinned bull let out a blood curdling scream as its body began to dissolve away in red mist, leaving the body of the short ninja in its place, sword pinning him to the ground. The ninja sputtered and spat a black mouthful of blood onto the dirt covered ground. Sephiroth was about to remove his blade when the ninja began to speak through his dieing coughs.

"You are too late. Ryuujin will cleanse the planet of infidels like you. My only regret is that I will not see him awaken from his slumber, to see the life enter the stone body he has left. But you will die demon, you will die a thousand deaths-" His dieing tirade was cut short by Sephiroth removing his sword and quickly dispatching the ninja's head. With a quick flick of his wrist, Sephiroth cleansed the blade of the blood and then turned his attention to the Huge Materia.

The crystal was much like the rest, and after only one sharp pull, the crystal broke free of the materia fountain that it sat on. This time he gave the task of carrying it to Locke, and then led the group out of the cave. In the clearing, he called the _Highwind_ on the communicator and within minutes, the silvery hull of the airship descended and dropped her rope ladder down to the awaiting SOLDIERs. Once they were on board, Sephiroth quickly ran towards the bridge while he told his squad to wait in the briefing room.

When he entered the bridge, Cmdr. Prescott turned and nodded at the SOLDIER. Sephiroth quickly keyed up the map of the Northern Continent and tapped the area that Hojo had said was the location of the final Huge Materia.

"I need you to get this ship here as quickly as possible. The enemy is already heading for it, but we have the advantage of speed on our sides."

"I'll crank every available horsepower out of the engines to get you there," Cmdr. Prescott said and then quickly made the calculations and barked the orders to his crew.

"Mr. Mao, bring us around to bearing 340, mark 065. Increase speed to all ahead full. We have time to make up gentlemen; lets not disappoint." Sephiroth nodded at the efficiency of the crew as they quickly went about their duties and the _Highwind_ responded in kind. As he left the bridge and made his way to the briefing room, the hull beneath his boots began to resonate with a thrumming cavitation as the motors reached their peak output. It was uncomfortable, but the _Highwind_ was now rocketing through the sky towards their final destination.

In the briefing room, the members of his squad were seated at the table; all of them looking a bit disturbed about the sudden change in the _Highwind_'s demeanor. Sephiroth crossed to the monitor and keyed the Communication's Officer. Once the face of the young officer came on the screen, Sephiroth told him to make a direct connection with Midgar. After only a few moments, the screen had an image of the Conference Room, all of the Executives were gathered minus the Vice President. Sephiroth lightly smirked at the luck at catching them all at a moment of a Conference. He knew that it would annoy some of them, which gave him a slight hint of satisfaction.

"You have something to report Sephiroth?" President Shinra asked. Sephiroth gave the required salute and gave his report.

"Sir, we have the Huge Materia from Round Island, and news on what the Brotherhood intends to do with them. They intend to awake what they call Ryuujin, apparently a slumbering god of some sorts that they say will purge the world of infidels. I doubt there's such a thing but it could be important." The President leaned back in his chair and shrugged his shoulders at the news. He had no idea what to think about the new data, however, Hojo did.

"Ah, it makes sense now," the Professor said as he tapped his finger on his temple. President Shinra leaned forward on the table and opened his hands in a sign for Hojo to elaborate. Hojo lightly shrugged his shoulders and pushed his glasses further onto his grizzled face.

"Well, as that Historian, Laguna or whatever his name was, said that this Brotherhood consisted of old dragon worshipers. Now, Sephiroth says that the ninja said they wanted to awaken the Ryuujin, or Dragon God. That alone of course makes no sense, but a former assistant of mine and the late Professor Gast did research into what has become known as the Weapon case. Without going into detail, the Weapons were supposedly created by the Planet to combat-" here Hojo stopped, adjusted his glasses, looked sideways at the camera which gave the impression that he was looking at the SOLDIER members in the briefing room on the _Highwind_, and then continued. "The Calamity From the Skies as the Ancients called it. However, once the Calamity was sealed away by the Ancients, the Weapons went dormant within the planet until they were needed again. Several members of the scientific community believe that these Weapons are real and are laying in wait around the globe, however none of them have ever been found. However, if the Brotherhood has found one, that would be a great scientific discovery. I'd love to study one as a specimen," Hojo said as he trailed off thinking about his new possible theories. Sephiroth sat forward in his chair and crossed his arms.

"If they awaken one of these Weapons, could it possibly destroy the world?" Sephiroth asked. Hojo briefly came out of his own thoughts long enough to push his glasses up his nose and scowl at Sephiroth through the monitor for breaking his concentration.

"Well it is conceivable since their purpose is to cleanse the planet of all life as we know it," Hojo spat in annoyance. This statement made President Shinra jump up in his seat and snap his cigar in his hand.

"Damn it Hojo, why didn't you say so earlier!?!?! Sephiroth, retrieve the last Materia and make it back to Midgar ASAP! From there, we'll plan our next course of action." Sephiroth nodded to the President and then the transmission was ended on the other side. Sephiroth let out a sigh and stood from the table. As he was about to leave the room, Loran called out to him.

"What should we do?" Sephiroth stopped in the doorway and looked back over his shoulder. Even though he looked directly at her, his eyes showed that his mind was somewhere else.

"Get some rest. We'll be at the next spot shortly and will probably have to take on a much larger enemy force. Use a restore materia if you need to." Sephiroth then stepped out of the doorway and the door closed with a hydraulic hiss. Locke leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head.

"He seem distant to you just now?" Locke asked the others. Bakusa shrugged and stretched his arms out.

"Well, he's usually distant."

"No, I know what you mean. He did seem like he had something on his mind," Loran said as a concerned look came across her face. Locke shrugged and stood from the table while tapping Bakusa on the back.

"Come on, lets go to the galley and get something to eat."

"Oh yeah, I wonder if that cute cook is working this shift," Bakusa said as he quickly jumped up and joined Locke. Locke hesitated for a moment and looked down to Loran, who was still sitting at the table.

"You want to join us?" he asked. She looked up after a moment and shook her head as she smiled.

"No, thanks though. I think I'll just get some sleep." Locke shrugged and both he and Bakusa left the briefing room. Loran stayed for a moment, and then got up to leave as well. She of course did not feel like sleeping yet, so she decided to go up and get some fresh air on the outer deck.

As the hydraulic driven hatch clanged open, Loran stepped out onto the upper deck, and even though the ship was now shaking as she pushed through the very envelope of her performance capabilities, Loran was surprised at how stable the ship still felt. She remarked to herself that it truly was a testament to the engineering prowess that had created the ship. Loran was about to walk to her chosen spot along the railing, but stopped short when she saw her captain standing there. Though the ship was cavitating, he stood there firmly planted to the deck with his arms folded. He briefly looked over to her, and then returned to his contemplative gaze out at the nothing. She shakily stood next to him and tried to start a conversation.

"What're you thinking about?" After an uncomfortable pause, he glanced over at her from the corner of his eye, realized that she was not going to leave and gave in with a sigh.

"Something Hojo said that reminded me of a day I've long forgotten," Sephiroth said as he closed his eyes, bringing the memory back to the forefront.

"What was that?" Loran asked, trying to not sound like she was really interested. Sephiroth smirked at her effort, but decided to speak about it, perhaps giving him an opportunity to voice his cluttered thoughts.

"He mentioned Professor Gast. That alone didn't make me remember, but it was when he said the word 'Calamity'. I suddenly remembered the last time I saw Gast." Loran waited a moment for Sephiroth to continue, but he became silent as he stared off into the distance. She was about to say something, but he came out of his trance and continued.

"It was after he had quit working for Shinra; maybe a month or so had passed since I heard he had quit for some reason or other. I was still a child and didn't fully understand things as I do now. He came to the orphanage and called me to the office he used when he came for visits. When I came in, he was standing by the fireplace leaning on the mantle as he read a letter in his hand. I remember when he heard that I came in, he quickly jumped as if he were expecting an attack rather than a friend. He looked flustered, as if he were trying to hide from someone. He tossed the letter into the dieing fire and quickly asked me questions. He asked all sorts of strange questions. He asked if Hojo had ever told me who my mother was. I thought he was going crazy, but I answered him anyway. I told him that my mother was Jenova. I remember that he looked hurt and defeated, but he never explained why. I heard a sound of a car door slam outside and the shouts of soldiers, and Gast quickly sad good bye and left through the back door. The soldiers came in and asked where he had gone, but I told them that he was never there." Loran watched as Sephiroth relived those moments in his memories and then asked what she was wondering.

"What were they looking for him for?" Sephiroth shrugged and shook his head.

"To this day I really don't know. But after the soldiers left, I retrieved the letter out of the fire. It was nearly burnt all the way through, but there were a few words I could make out. It was from someone living in the town of Icicle, a small village on the Northern Continent. I couldn't make out much of what the letter said, but I did see the word 'Calamity'. It was underlined. There was also a line or two about something that he had apparently found that wasn't what he thought it was. I thought that Gast might get in trouble if the letter was found, so I destroyed the rest of it. I hadn't thought about it until today." Sephiroth trailed off and leaned his head back as he let out a sigh. Loran thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

"So was Professor Gast doing research on these Weapons?" Loran asked. Sephiroth shrugged and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't know. The only reports I've ever read about him state that he was a founding member of the SOLDIER program, crucial to the integration of Mako into candidates. If he did anything else, it must have been classified." Sephiroth shook his head and began to walk towards the hatchway.

"I'm going to get some rest. I suggest you do the same." Before he let the hatchway close, he turned around and looked her in the eye. "You shouldn't be out here with the ship traveling this fast. It's not safe." He then turned back and began to walk down the staircase. Loran raised an eyebrow at the confusing statement that he had just made; after all, they were both just standing here for nearly five minutes without concern for safety. Still, she did not like standing in the open with the ship shaking as it was, so she reentered the ship and went to her cabin.

As she lay down on her bunk, a hundred questions came to her mind. She rolled onto her side and tried to sort out the information. Sephiroth had said that he was in an orphanage, which made sense to a degree. The old orphanage in Sector 1 was well known to be a Shinra backed training camp for future members of SOLDIER. If Sephiroth was raised in one of these, it would explain how he was so efficient in his duties. It could also explain why he was so distant at times. As she thought about this, she could not help but feel concern for her captain, and regret that he missed out on the regular childhood that a child should experience. She tried to push the thoughts away, and soon she fell into an unstable slumber.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter XVII

Sephiroth stood on the bridge of the _Highwind_, watching the ice covered continent conveniently named the Northern Continent pass by underneath. The ship had decreased her speed to that of her normal cruising speed about an hour before, so the noticeable vibration was no longer present. The _Highwind_ was nearing the estimated point for the final Mako concentration and Sephiroth was ready to get it over with.

Behind him, several of the crew members were making more noise than usual, and Cmdr. Prescott was addressing their concerns. Sephiroth turned and caught the attention of Prescott and asked what the trouble was.

"Nothing the crew can't handle. It's just that the engineers are experiencing more trouble adapting the engines to the cold temperatures than what we expected." Sephiroth nodded and turned back to the viewport. He realized that it must be cold outside, because thin layers of frost were beginning to build up around the metal frames of the viewport glass. He rubbed his gloved finger over the frosted area, his finger only leaving a trail in the cold condensation that was building up on the interior side of the glass.

Sephiroth vaguely heard the sound of the hydraulic doorway opening and saw his squad members walking into the bridge. Bakusa went to one of the female crewmembers and tried to talk to her, but she only vaguely responded while she carried out her duties. Locke went to a raised platform and leaned on a workstation that no one was using. Loran came up near Sephiroth and looked out of the viewport at the ice covered mountain that the _Highwind_ was passing. Though the sunlight was nearly non-existent due to their relative location being on the North Pole and the area was under going its six month's of twilight, the shape of the large ancient mountain was clearly visible. What looked like a blizzard was swirling around the conceivable top of the mountain, but she could still see that the top of the mountain was actually a large crater.

"What is that?" she asked as she looked at the cold and gray mountain. Sephiroth briefly looked over to her and then looked down at the crater as they passed by. He shrugged and continued to watch the horizon.

"I believe it's called the Northern Crater or Cave, depending on who you ask. I don't know much about it though," Sephiroth commented. Just then the _Highwind_ banked to starboard and began to pass over the crater's edge. As the ship passed over the crater, Sephiroth looked down into the black abyss. Though it was covered in a thick fog, the inner walls of the crater seemed to go down forever. Even though the site was nothing to get excited about, Sephiroth found that he could not look away. As he gazed into the blackness, the sounds of the _Highwind_ faded away and the pulse of his own heartbeat filled his ears with a sickening thump. It seemed that the fog surrounding the crater began to dissipate, revealing what lay within. Sephiroth squinted his eyes as he tried to focus on what lay within, and then suddenly it happened. It was as if a great shadow leaped from the gorge and flew directly at him. He jumped back from the viewport, and then the sounds of the _Highwind_ filled his ears and everything went back to normal.

Loran looked back at him with concern on her face. "Are you all right?" she asked. Sephiroth blinked a few times and then stepped forward again and looked down into the fog covered crater. Whatever he had thought he had seen was gone, or was never there. He shook his head and again focused on the horizon.

"It was nothing."

* * *

The _Highwind_ idled in the air about 50 meters above the raging sea surface as her crew diligently used all of the observation equipment available to locate the final cave. Nearly two hours had been spent since they arrived at the projected point, and yet they were not able to locate it. Rain and sleet pelted the hull of the _Highwind_, making the situation all the more displeasing.

Sephiroth looked down on the tactical display table map that was now showing an image of the rugged terrain of the Northern Crater. The projected Mako point was just south of the Northern Crater, yet there did not seem to be any caves along the sharp precipice of the cliff side anywhere from the crater top to the foaming sea below. Sephiroth scrolled the image with the trackball and tried to think of anything that they had not tried before. He was getting frustrated at the time they were wasting and let his composure slip for a moment. He quickly spun the trackball down and crossed his arms as he took in a deep breath to calm himself. It was then that Loran sat up from her perched position at the map table and pointed out a crack near the sea surface.

"What's that? Could that be a cave?" Sephiroth looked down and saw what she was looking at. In an inlet of the sea, there was a tall and slender crack in the surface of the cliff face. Inside, the raging ocean water surged in, but did not come out in a quick rush as it did with other cracks. That could only mean that there was an interior space to the crack, and that meant that there was a cave.

"That's it, I'm sure of it," Sephiroth said with a smirk. Cmdr. Prescott came over to take a look and frowned as he rubbed his chin.

"There's a problem; how are you going to get into it? The _Highwind_ can't lower a boat in these raging seas and besides, we don't have a boat to lower even if we could." Sephiroth frowned and began to scroll the map up to see if there was a point that they could repel from. However, the sudden buzzer sound coming from the radar station broke his attention away.

"What is it?" Cmdr. Prescott asked as he quickly walked over to the radar station.

"Sir, it's a Wutai destroyer on approach from the West-Southwest." Cmdr. Prescott turned to Sephiroth and raised an eyebrow. Sephiroth stood tall and nodded his head.

"They must have made a large curving course to avoid the Shinra naval blockade," he commented to himself. Suddenly the answer to his problem came to his mind. "Have they seen us on their radar?" The radar officer shook his head and cupped the headphones to his ear.

"No sir; the storm has limited their range of contact, especially the raging waves. We were lucky enough to spot them because we're 50 meters above the surface." Sephiroth nodded and walked up to the radar station.

"How's their aerial radar?" Sephiroth asked.

"Not very good. All naval ships' radar mainly focuses on locating other ships. That's one of the many benefits of using airships for warfare," Cmdr. Prescott said as he placed his hands behind his back. Sephiroth nodded and let a smirk come across his face.

"Take the _Highwind_ up into the cloud cover and come around to the rear of that destroyer. We'll use the cloud cover to drop down onto that ship and then gain access to the caves." Cmdr. Prescott raised both his brows at the dangerous yet innovative move and then nodded. He quickly turned and gave the orders to his crew and soon the _Highwind_ rose into the air and passed into the thick enveloping blanket of the black clouds.

* * *

Seaman's Apprentice Hajime Hachiro ran into the hatchway on the deck of the _Hiryuu _to get out of the heavy rain that was pouring onto the deck. His khaki uniform was drenched in rain and was chilling him down to the bone. He tried to brush some of the water off of his face but it was like he had just gotten out of the coldest shower in his life. The ship rolled heavily in the storm and he fell against one of the bulkheads. Hachiro cursed to himself at his unfortunate luck at being put on watch duty during the worst storm he had seen in his life.

He tried to look back out through the hatch to see if the Deck Officer was on patrol to see that he had left his post, but he could not make out anything in the torrential down pour. He doubted that anybody was stupid enough to be trying to walk around on the deck during this, so he leaned against the bulkhead and lit a cigarette. As he took his first long lung filling drag, a mighty crash of lightning illuminated the dark sky outside.

Hachiro looked out instinctively at the flash, and for the briefest of moments he thought he saw the hulking form of something in the sky. To Hachiro, it appeared to be something like a giant bird, or perhaps, it was a dragon. Hachiro took another long drag and dismissed the idea. Dragons were only creatures of myth and legend, no matter what these Brotherhood members aboard said. Hachiro let a light laugh come to him and he spit on the deck at the thought of the Brotherhood. How they had convinced Lord Godo that they were fighting for Wutai he would never know. Hachiro frowned as he thought about it himself. Perhaps Godo saw that the Brotherhood was a better ally than an enemy? No, Hachiro realized with a laugh, there was no nation in the world that was greater than Wutai, not even the mega-conglomeration that was Shinra could stand up to the might of Wutai. True, the war was now being fought on Wutai soil, but the Shinra were of no real threat. Wutai was only waiting for their moment to strike.

Hachiro nodded to himself as the realization came to him. That was Godo's motive for accepting the Brotherhood; with these crystals they were trying to collect, they were going to give Wutai the weapon they needed to defeat the Shinra once and for all. With this thought, Hachiro smiled and held his head up tall. After all, it was always a gift for him to be able to realize such things. Other enlisted men were to only follow orders, but he was gifted in that he had the mind of an officer.

Just then, another loud crack of thunder and bright flash of lightning lit the sky. This time, Hachiro was sure that he saw something. This time he could see that it was not a dragon, but he still could not see what it was. He cursed to himself at the realization that he was going to have to walk out onto the slippery shifting deck to get a better look. He tossed his cigarette in anger and pulled his shirt collars as close to his head as if they were going to afford him some sort of cover from the unrelenting rain.

He stepped out onto the deck with the sure footedness of a sailor and peered up into the sky where he thought he had seen the shape. Through the howling wind and crashing waves and the constant rolling thunder, he thought he could hear the sound of propellers. Of course Hachiro knew that this was impossible, but yet he could not deny that that was what he heard. He was about to step closer for a better glimpse of the sound when more lightning struck above in the clouds. This time he not only saw the hulking form of an airship, but he saw a silver haired man cloaked in black plummeting straight towards him. Hachiro tried to turn and run, but his footing slipped on the wet decking. Suddenly the wind was knocked out of his lungs as he was flattened against the deck.

Sephiroth stood and stepped off of the unconscious form of a sailor and made sure the coast was clear. After he was sure that there was no one else on the deck, he gave the sign for the others to come down the rope ladder. Once they were on the deck, the _Highwind_ pulled back up into the cloud cover and Sephiroth quickly tossed the still unconscious sailor overboard.

All four of them gathered behind a jig head and squatted down to speak quietly, even though the rain was still pouring down heavily.

"Was that absolutely necessary?" Loran asked about the sailor. Sephiroth smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"He saw the _Highwind_. We couldn't let him go and warn the rest of the ship." Loran nodded in defeat, but she still did not see the point in throwing him overboard.

"So what do we do now? Go and kick everybody's ass on this ship?" Bakusa said as he pounded his fist into the palm of his other hand. Locke shook his head, sending water from his soaked head.

"Yeah, and then try to steer this ship all by ourselves? No thanks." Bakusa frowned and pushed Locke, who then pushed him back. Sephiroth glared at both of them and they stopped their fighting.

"We're going to have to find a place to lay low until they get near the cave. Then we can sneak off and take the Huge Materia from them." He looked around for a place for them to hide and saw a large covered life boat. The boat was rather large, and had a fiberglass top that made the boat look more like a miniature submarine, even with a small window near it's bow.

Sephiroth crept over to it and inspected the boat. It was set up on an emergency wench that had a release inside. The boat was made to seat fifteen uncomfortably, so the four of them would have plenty of room. He motioned for the others and then opened the hatch for them to enter. Inside, the boat had a few ration packs and four oars. Sephiroth closed the hatch and sat near the window, looking out to make sure no one else was patrolling the deck.

Sephiroth leaned back against the fiberglass hull and kept his watch of the deck. "Now we wait," he said as he crossed his arms.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter XVIII

The _Hiryuu_ continued to ride through the torrential seas for what seemed like an eternity. Sephiroth continued to keep his watch over the deck through the small window, but there was no movement. Apparently the Wutai sailors were not as foolish as they looked.

After two hours of riding the massive waves, the _Hiryuu_ came to a halt. Sephiroth first noticed that the thrumming sound of the propellers had stopped, and he confirmed this by seeing the shape of the rock cliff when a bolt of lightning lit the sky.

The waves were still rough, but close to the cliffs they did not seem to be as rough as they were before. The glass window in the lifeboat had fogged over but Sephiroth could still make out the lights on the deck. Soon there seemed to be some sailors coming onto the deck and they went to a small boat that was tied up along side the main house. Sephiroth tried to get a better look, but he did not wipe the condensation off of the glass in fear that they might see him. He thought he made out the shape of several people getting into the boat, and the sailors then lowering the boat into the water. Once the boat was in, the sailors quickly returned to the safety of the interior.

Sephiroth looked back to the others and nodded. "They've lowered their boat. We'll wait a few minutes and then go after them." Locke sat forward and raised his brow in question.

"Why don't we just let them bring the Materia back to the ship and take it from them then?" Sephiroth again turned to his small window and answered without looking at Locke.

"Because we don't know how many of them there are inside the ship. It's easier to just take out the few that are going to be in the cave." Locke shrugged in resignation and crossed his arms.

"You think one of them is going to do that weird transformation thing? That's getting pretty old." Sephiroth shrugged and sat back.

"Hold on, I'm not sure how this is going to work," Sephiroth said before he pulled the release mechanism. The bright orange life boat quickly fell from the wench and dove bow first into the sea. The impact jarred everyone inside, sending them flailing to the bottom of the lifeboat. The boat stayed under water for only a moment before it rushed back up to the surface. The boat did a jump out of the water much like a whale, then leveled off on the surface.

Sephiroth sat up in the front and grabbed one of the oars. Though the top of the boat was made to come off, there were small doors in the sides meant for the oars. He opened one of these and stuck his oar out. The others all grabbed an oar and did the same. After a trial moment of getting synchronized, they began to paddle through the stormy waters towards the cave. It took some time to make it into the cave, because every time they got close, the rushing water would surge into the cave and then would pull them back out. After five attempts to enter the cave, they finally reached the breaking point where they remained inside the cave.

At this point, the water became calm and they were able to paddle the boat with ease. The interior of the sea cave was dark, so Sephiroth popped the seal on the cover and tossed it overboard. Now that the boat was open, they could all make out a faint green glow along the rocks. The air was bitterly cold and showed their breath as they exhaled the cold damp air. Ahead of them they could see a small landing where the first boat had landed. Sephiroth silently gave a signal for them to land their boat along a rocky path away from the other boat to avoid being seen.

Once they were on land, they quickly crept up to the main area. Sephiroth did a quick head count and counted only five Brotherhood members. Two were working on the large Green Materia crystal while two were keeping a look out. The fifth was supervising, obviously he was the leader. Sephiroth thought for a moment about what the best course of action would be, but he did not get to implement a plan.

The two keeping guard saw something in the water and pulled the object onto the shore. Sephiroth cursed to himself as he saw the bright orange roof of their boat. The supervisor came to inspect it and quickly gave the order for his men to inspect the area. One of them must have seen the green light reflecting off of Sephiroth's silver hair and opened fire with his assault rife.

Sephiroth ducked behind a rock for cover as the other Brotherhood ninjas opened fire. Locke aimed both of his pistols at the ceiling of the cave chamber and fired fire enhanced rounds. The icy rock broke loose and fell on one of the ninjas, crushing him underneath.

Bakusa charged out during the brief moment of confusion and kicked one of the ninjas in the stomach, sending him into the freezing water. Bakusa then focused on his Ice materia and froze the ninja in the water.

Loran jumped at one of the ninjas but he countered with a swing of the butt of his rifle. Loran dodged the blow with one short sword and swung at his throat with the other, killing him instantly.

Sephiroth broke into a blinding dash and split the remaining ninja in half before the ninja could reload his rifle. The four of them then turned to the supervisor, who was now lightly clapping. The man was more fat than he was tall, and had little hair to speak of. Sephiroth wondered just what his talent was that made him join the Brotherhood.

"Congratulations," the fat ninja said after he stopped clapping. "You've made it this far. The Leader was right to wonder about your abilities. But where the others have failed in killing you, my fate will not be so!" The fat ninja began to focus his energy upon himself and began to become consumed by the all too familiar red mist. Sephiroth charged forward, not wanting to see what he was turning into, and swung hard with his Murasame. The blade sliced through the air with a harmonic whistle, but stopped abruptly as if it had hit stone. Sephiroth looked up to see that the fat ninja had transformed into a solid form of rock. His blade was deep within the creature's side, but the Titan only let out a bellowing laugh as he pulled the splinter from his side and threw Sephiroth against the cave wall.

Locke opened fire with both pistols, but the bullets only ricocheted off of the rock. Loran looked at both of her blades and knew that she could not do any damage. Instead, she focused on her materia and tried to cast fire at it. The materia worked, but the fireball only passed over the rock surface doing no damage.

Bakusa lunged towards it and tried to upper cut it to the groin, but the only sound of pain came from Bakusa as his hand met with the solid rock. Sephiroth sneered and again lunged at the creature, this time he quickly jumped around it trying to swing at different points on the Titan. The beast only took the blows and lost a few glancing steps, but nothing serious was done to it's edifice.

Locke jumped towards it and again unleashed the fury of both his magazines into the Titan's face, but the bullets seemed like mere gnats to the beast. Sephiroth jumped back to the sidelines and tried to see if the creature had a weakness. He saw that it moved slow, but other than that, there was no foreseeable way to hurt it. As they regrouped, the Titan let out another bellowing laugh and turned around to the rock wall. There it seized a large boulder and lifted it high above its head.

Sephiroth saw this as an opportunity to strike. As the Titan lifted the boulder, he quickly gave out his orders. "Loran, Bakusa, hit it with whatever materia you have. Locke, throw a grenade at it's knees!" In unison, Sephiroth, Bakusa, and Loran each attacked with a different type of materia; Sephiroth used his mastered lightning, Bakusa his ice, and Loran her fire. Each blast hit the Titan with just enough force to slightly stun it. Though it was not enough to do any harm to it what so ever, it was enough to get it distracted from the olive drab green sphere that was hurtling towards its knees. When the grenade exploded, it caused the creature to loose its balance. Sephiroth then lunged forward towards the massive beast and swung with all of his might at his mid section. The Titan stumbled backwards, and while still holding the boulder above it's head, fell onto its back. The boulder came crashing down on its body, crushing it underneath.

The Titan let out a bellow of pain, and soon the red mist was trailing away leaving the crushed ninja underneath. Sephiroth looked down at the ninja and pointed the tip of his blade at his head. The ninja looked up as he struggled for breath and spat blood out onto the cave floor.

"What are you waiting for?" the fat ninja said in a gruff and fading voice. Sephiroth sneered and answered.

"Tell me where the Brotherhood's base is at. Where is the Ryuujin?" The ninja tried to laugh, but the pain cut him off.

"And why should I tell you that? I'll be dead soon anyways," the ninja managed to say. Sephiroth leaned down towards the ninja's face and sneered an evil grin.

"Because I have a mastered Restore materia and all the time in the world." The ninja opened both of his eyes and knew that the SOLDIER was not joking. If Sephiroth were to use the materia on him, he could conceivably have to live through this pain forever. He closed his eyes in resignation and gave the answer Sephiroth wanted to hear.

"Mount Hitoyama. But it will do you no good to stop the Awakening, the great Ryuujin will destroy all-" Sephiroth did not need to hear anymore so he put the ninja out of his misery.

Sephiroth looked to the frozen materia fountain and looked at the green Huge Materia. With a motion of his hand, he sent Locke and Bakusa to remove it and secure it in the crate that the Brotherhood was going to use. As they began to work, Sephiroth turned to look at the area of the wall that the boulder had been. In the newly revealed area, there was a crack just large enough for a person to squeeze into. From this crack, there seemed to be a strange glow emanating from within. Though it appeared to be a glow, it was not a light, but more of an absence of light that was within the crack. Sephiroth felt compelled to investigate, and left the others to their work.

Loran saw him go off into the crack and decided to follow him to see where it went. Inside, the crack opened into a small chamber. The walls were like that of a geode, but the crystals were all a dark black color. Their shape was not like a normal crystal either, they were strange and twisted as if they were a tortured form of rock. But Sephiroth was not looking at these crystals, he was looking at a strange chunk of what looked like a dark metal.

"What's that?" Loran said. Sephiroth shook his head and bent down to look at the bowling ball sized chunk.

"I think it's astro-ore. There was a meteor that hit the surface making the crater we saw on our way in. Maybe this is a remnant of the meteor." From outside the crack in the cave proper, Locke called out that they were done securing the Huge Materia. Sephiroth nodded and reached forth to grab the chunk of ore, but as soon as he touched it, it felt like there was a bolt of lightning that flowed through him.

Everything around him went black and he could not hear anything save for the beating of his heart. Slowly, a single red source of light began to glow, faint at first but growing in intensity until it was bright enough to light the entire cave. Deep in his mind, he thought he heard a sickly whispering voice trying to speak to him. His heart began to beat quicker and quicker. Suddenly the bright red light began to fill him with a deep gut wrenching pain. But just as soon as everything had started, it went away when Loran touched Sephiroth on his shoulder.

"Are you all right? You seemed to kind of space out there for a moment." Sephiroth blinked and looked at Loran, genuine concern was on her face. He looked back to the ore and then nodded. He grabbed the ore, surprised at how heavy it was for it's size, and then stood up.

"We better get out of here before that destroyer notices their crew hasn't come back yet." Loran nodded and they both left the small chamber. Locke and Bakusa were loading the crate onto the Brotherhood's boat when they exited the crack in the rock wall.

"This boat has a motor, boss. We figured it'd be easier than trying to row that life boat out of here." Sephiroth nodded and then they all got aboard the boat. Once the small motor was fired up, they pulled away from the landing and set out back into the roaring sea.

From the bridge of the small boat, Sephiroth could see several crew members of the _Hiryuu_ inspecting the area where their lifeboat had come from. He smirked and pushed the throttle of the engine to full. The boat was able to avoid the attention of the crew on the _Hiryuu_ for only a minute before they brought a spotlight onto the small boat as it tried to make it's escape.

The destroyer soon opened fire with its guns, but luckily the boat was too small of a target and the shells landed in the water missing their target. The shell impacts exploded in the water and sent fountains of sea water soaring to the sky. Sephiroth called the _Highwind_ on his communicator and before long, the _Highwind_ descended down from the cloud cover and hovered above the boat just long enough for them to grab onto the rope ladder and to secure the materia crate by another line.

As the _Hiryuu_ tried to focus it's fire on the _Highwind_, the airship quickly pulled back up into the cloud cover and was quickly out of the destroyer's firing range.

On board the _Highwind_, Sephiroth entered the bridge and nodded to Cmdr. Prescott. "Set course for Midgar. We've got a war to plan."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter XIX

After a much needed and relaxing shower, and a quick nap, Sephiroth stood on the outer deck of the _Highwind_ as the airship began to fly over Midgar. From this vantage point, the city looked like a rotting pizza covered with squirming insects. The smell in the air was a mix of grease and old Mako that was rising from the reactors. The massive tower of the Shinra Power Company loomed ahead, and the _Highwind_ slowed down so they could lower the rope ladder and land on the VIP helicopter pad. An airport was in the plans for Midgar, and once the construction on Sector 6 was complete, the _Highwind_ would not have to use such a rudimentary technique for departing.

The _Highwind_ hovered over the helipad, and a crewman dropped the coiled ladder. Sephiroth looked over the edge and saw that a small reception party had formed. President Shinra was there, along with Heidegger and Hojo. As Sephiroth began to climb down the ladder, Locke and Bakusa began to lower the crate carrying the two Huge Materia crystals with a pulley. When Sephiroth reached the helipad, several overall clad workers were securing the crate and releasing the line from the pulley. After a moment, the rest of Sephiroth's unit was on the pad and the President addressed them.

"Good work Sephiroth. Now that we've got the huge Materias, I think Wutai and this Brotherhood business can be put to rest." Sephiroth shook his head though, which made the President's smile turn to a scowl.

"I don't think so. The last Brotherhood member we encountered talked as if they were still going to awaken Ryuujin. I think we still have a problem on our hands." Shinra shot a glare over to Hojo and spat a question at him.

"Can they awaken one of those Weapon things with only one Huge Materia?"

"Two," Hojo said as he inspected the crate containing the recently recovered crystals. "They possibly have two of them. From the tests I've been able to run, it's conceivable that one crystal could be sufficient in awakening a creature like that. Though with two, the task would be much easier."

"Damn, have you got any idea where they could be doing this at?" Shinra asked Hojo, but it was Sephiroth who answered.

"Mount Hitoyama, it's about 200 kilometers south of Wutai City." President Shinra scowled again and spit on the tarmac.

"Hell, our forces are no where near that. It would be impossible to attack that mountain, even with bombers." Sephiroth shifted his weight and looked at Shinra. The President saw the look and could see the ambition that was in those emerald eyes.

"An attack at the mountain is possible, but I would need complete command of the armed forces to make it work." Shinra looked Sephiroth over as he ran the thought of placing this young SOLDIER in command of his entire army. Shinra knew full well that the regular soldiers would follow Sephiroth, after all he was a legend among their ranks. But he also knew that it would not take much for Sephiroth to plant the seeds in their minds that he would make a better leader of the world than Shinra. It was a risk to place Sephiroth in that position, but then again he always had a deep back up plan.

Sephiroth watched as Shinra mulled over the decision. Sephiroth knew that Shinra was weighing the fact that Sephiroth may try to take over through a military coup, but he knew that there was no way that he could convince Shinra that he did not want anything of the sort. As if Shinra could read his thoughts, Shinra looked from him to the ground, and back again. Shinra's eyes now had a strange glow as he smirked and put forth his hand.

"All right Sephiroth. I'll let you take command of the armed forces under the rank of General, but once this war is over, the rank becomes null." Sephiroth looked at the pudgy vein filled hand with skin as dry as lizard scales and took it in his gloved hand. Both looked each other in the eye and squeezed each other's hand as they shook. When they let go, Shinra reached into his jacket pocket for another cigar.

"I'll inform the General Staff about your appointment. They're stationed in the town of Lansing, just north of the Nibel Mountains. General Huston isn't going to like being replaced, but he hasn't produced any victories in some time. You can take the _Highwind_ there once it's refueled. I want you to make this operation work as quickly as possible, do you understand me?"

"Perfectly," Sephiroth said with a smirk. The President nodded and walked back inside to his office. Professor Hojo was directing the workers to take the crate down to the laboratory where the other Huge Materia crystals were being kept. As Sephiroth passed, Hojo saw the large bowling ball sized hunk of metal he was carrying under his left arm.

"What do you have there?" Hojo asked in his sickening voice. Sephiroth lightly looked at him and answered quickly.

"A piece of astro-ore." Hojo's eyes opened wide and he let a cruel smirk come across his face.

"Astro-ore, you mean it's a piece of a meteor? Where did you find it?" Sephiroth sighed in annoyance at having to speak to the man he hated the most.

"Near the Northern Crater, at the base in the materia cave. Any other questions?" Sephiroth added with a noticeable hint of annoyance. Hojo shook his head, and when Sephiroth and his squad were gone, Hojo let a wide grin come across his face before he broke out into cackling laughter.

* * *

In his armory, Cinna was polishing a sword blade when Sephiroth came walking in. He looked up and tried to put a smile on, but he was sure that the SOLDIER was there to complain that his Murasame had broken. Instead, Sephiroth placed the chunk of astro-ore on the counter and lightly smiled at Cinna.

"Is this enough to make a sword how I want?" Cinna's eyes popped open as he looked at the enormous metal piece.

"Yeah, it should be more than enough. Where did you get it?" he asked in shock.

"Never mind that. How long until you can make it?" Cinna began to jot several notes down on a scrap of paper and briefly looked up to answer.

"Should take me a couple of days at least. Why, you in a hurry?" Sephiroth nodded and began to walk out of the door.

"When it's done, deliver it to Lansing on the Western Continent. I'll make sure you can take a transport there."

* * *

An hour after they landed, Loran, Bakusa, and Locke were all onboard the outer deck of the _Highwind_. For once, they were all waiting on Sephiroth, who was now making his way over the VIP helipad with a bag slung over his back. He quickly climbed the rope ladder and nodded to the crewman to pull it up. He lightly looked over his squad and then made his way towards the bridge. Once there, he called Cmdr. Prescott over and gave the order to depart.

"Set course for the town of Lansing and inform me when we start to descend."

"Yes sir, General sir," Cmdr. Prescott said with a salute and went about giving the orders. Sephiroth turned and looked at his squad members.

"We've got some time before we reach Lansing. Until then, I suggest you get acquainted with these," Sephiroth opened the bag and pulled out three small metal boxes and handed one to each of them. Bakusa took his and let a laugh come out of him.

"Hah, just like Santa Claus!" Sephiroth gave him a dirty look and cringed his upper lip.

"He wears red. I hate red." Locke shrugged and shook his box as he listened to see if he could tell what was inside.

"Obviously you're not a fan of color. Everything you own is either black or silver. What's in these?" Sephiroth shook his head and pushed past them to head towards his cabin.

"Why don't you open them and find out?" he said as he passed through the hydraulic door and left the bridge. Loran undid the latch on her box and saw the deep green glow of mastered materia. Her jaw dropped as she saw the virtually priceless orbs shimmer with their deep radiance. Compared to her entry level materia, the vibrant color of the mastered ones made the others look as if they were faded. She looked up and saw that both Locke and Bakusa had received the same gift. Locke smiled and nodded his head as he pictured the obvious damage his pistols would do now. Bakusa equipped the Mastered Ice materia to his gloves and felt the cool rush pass over his hands. As Loran equipped her blades with Mastered Fire and Lightning, Locke looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"How do you think he managed to get these? Management always keeps these under strict lock and key." Bakusa started to shadow box and lightly shrugged his shoulder before he pummeled his shadow with a quick combo.

"Well, I guess rank has its privileges."

* * *

The flight was to take 8 hours, and though Loran had tried to do everything to make the time pass, she had only killed 4 hours. She had gone out onto the deck and practiced using her new materia, but the power required to use them had exhausted her. She had tried to hang around with Locke and Bakusa, but she became tired of Bakusa's constant flirting with every woman on board the airship, and when there was not another woman around, he tried to flirt with her. Locke was not much for conversation at the time, he was too busy cleaning and disassembling his guns. So she had returned to her room to take a nap, but she could not get to sleep.

Instead, her mind kept making her think about her captain, or general as he should now be called. She remembered telling Mortis that she thought anyone could get Sephiroth to talk more if they just got to know him. She was somewhat right on her assumption. What little he did talk to her about showed her that he was more complex than just the SOLDIER on the propaganda posters. He was someone who had a complex past and a troubled childhood. Perhaps there was much that could be analyzed about his youth that could be tied to his strength and presence in battle, but there was something else there that Loran also saw. Deep down, Sephiroth was a person, just like everyone else she had ever met.

But there was something still very mysterious and strange about him. The more she thought about him, the harder she found it to stop thinking about him. It was there as she laid on her bunk that she realized the truth that she had been subconsciously avoiding: she was in love with Sephiroth.

She sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Now that she realized it, she could not function without getting it off of her chest. She stood up and began to pace the room. How could she continue to fight beside him, knowing what she felt for him and yet not knowing if he felt the same or not? The possibility was too much for her to bare, so she came to her conclusion. She was going to tell Sephiroth how she felt, and she hoped that he felt the same way. She went to her door and opened it. She took one final breath of confidence and went to Sephiroth's cabin door and knocked.

From inside, she heard the muffled voice of Sephiroth telling her to come in. She opened the door and stepped into his cabin. She closed the door behind her and surveyed the small room. On the bunk was his Murasame blade and his mythril pauldrons. Sephiroth was sitting at a small desk that was covered in paperwork, many of them with scribbles and notes scratched on the margins. She thought he looked strange without his pauldrons on, the leather on his shoulders even seemed to be a darker shade than the rest of the coat.

Sephiroth stopped writing and raised his eyebrow as he watched Loran look over his room. "Is there something you want?" he asked. Loran tried to smile, but only gave a crooked grin. She had the words in her mind but she could not communicate them to her mouth. Instead, she tried to start a conversation and try to slip the statement in.

"Have you ever been scared?" she said in a quiet and crackling voice, the best she could muster under the circumstances. Sephiroth noticed the tone to her voice, but misread its reason. He shook his head and looked back down to his notes. He thought for a moment before he spoke and then looked back to Loran.

"I've never thought about it. I'm sure I have been, but I can't remember a single time when I was. Why, are you scared about the upcoming battle?" he asked with a hint of humor to his voice. Loran shook her head and took a step closer to him. She did not know why, but the slight inflection in his voice had made her angry.

"Why is it always battles with you? Can't you ever think of something else?" she spat out before she thought about it. Sephiroth put his pen down and stood up. The look on his face showed that he was annoyed, but he kept any anger he might have in check.

"Because battles are all I've ever had. I've never had a family, never had a home, nothing like what you had. All I had was a run down government farm for soldiers and a sadistic torturer that claims he's a scientist. Being a soldier was all I ever had to look forward to, and all I ever wanted." Loran shook her head and stepped up to him, even though he was a full head taller than her, she still stared him right in the eye.

"I don't believe that, not for one second. There's always something else for everyone out there, you just have to make it happen! If you want a family and a home, then get one, it's not hard." Sephiroth let out a sarcastic humph and shook his head. He turned around and sat back at his desk.

"I have no use for anything like that. You should get some rest, or if you're hungry, the galley has some soup that I've been told is not bad." Loran clinched her fists at his lack of imagination. She shook her head and turned to leave his room.

"You're impossible sometimes," she said before she slammed the door behind her. Sephiroth looked at the vacant doorway and briefly thought about what she said. After a brief moment, he let out another humph and went back to his notes.

Loran returned to her room, slammed the door, and kicked her bed in frustration. Why was Sephiroth so difficult at times? Perhaps she was wrong, and Sephiroth _was_ merely just the man on the posters. Maybe there was not anything else to him other than his mythos he had around him. No, that was not it, she thought to herself. There was more to the man, but now was not the time to worry about such things. His mind was occupied with the upcoming battle preparations. She knew that if she revealed what she felt for him now, it would only be another weight that he would have to carry on his shoulders. She decided then that she would wait to speak to him about such things, regardless of how tormented she would be until she knew if he returned the same feelings about her.

* * *

Heidegger was sitting at his desk, playing with the Newton's Cradle on his desk when Professor Hojo walked in. Heidegger quickly jumped up in his seat, surprised that someone was walking into his office.

"Uh, Hojo, what brings you to my office?" Hojo looked over the brim of his glasses at Heidegger and gave a scowl at the man's idiocy.

"I need to take a trip to Nibelhiem and need an armed escort." Heidegger lightly nodded in confusion and cocked an eyebrow.

"Of course, but, uh, why did you come to me for that?" Hojo rolled his eyebrows and took in a breath in annoyance.

"Because you are in charge of all helicopter flights in and out of Midgar. I need to get to Nibelhiem as quickly as possible to check on a theory." Heidegger slowly nodded and then realized what Hojo was getting at.

"Of course! I'll have a team ready in an hour. Going to check on your experiment?" Heidegger asked as he picked up the phone receiver and dialed the proper channels to sequester the helicopter needed. Hojo lightly nodded and turned to make his way out of the office. When the door was closed, Heidegger let a shudder run over his body; he hated the Professor about as much as anyone else. To rid himself of the feeling, he resorted to his only method of stress relief.

"Gha ha ha ha! Oh, uh, this is Heidegger. I need a helicopter and a full escort team to be ready for departure."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter XX

The _Highwind_ passed through the cloud cover and began her descent towards the small town of Lansing. The town itself only consisted of a few city blocks, mainly of small houses and a few local stores, nothing by itself that showed any strategic worth. But outside of the town, in the fields that had not been plowed for some years, were the temporary sheet metal buildings of the Shinra Armed Forces. Barracks buildings housed the thousands of troops, hangars held the hundreds of bomber planes and munitions, and placed all over the area were anti aircraft gun emplacements.

Sephiroth stood on the bridge of the _Highwind_ and took in the sight of the military base outside of the small town. Closer to the town on the northern side, he could see the scaffolding network that was being constructed to launch the first of the Shinra space program rockets. Sephiroth himself felt that going into space was worthless since it held no strategic military worth, but the President was firm in his belief that his company could make even more money by controlling the region of outer space. It made no sense to Sephiroth, but he only cared about the here and now.

The _Highwind_ slowed her speed as she approached a landing field that was designated for the airship. Crewmembers were tossing down lines to the ground crew who then secured the ship to the surface. Sephiroth left the bridge to Cmdr. Prescott and made his way to the exit ramp. There, he met up with Locke, Bakusa, and Loran. Locke was leaning on the bulkhead in his usual attempt to look cool, Bakusa was stretching his arms as if he was about to go into combat, and Loran gave a half hearted smile to Sephiroth, who only nodded and led the way onto the surface.

Waiting for them was a young officer wearing the dress uniform of the Shinra Army. As they approached, he saluted and spoke to Sephiroth. "Sir, Captain Nelson sir. General Huston wants me to take you to the Command office." Sephiroth nodded and looked towards the sheet metal buildings.

"Where's the Command office?" Sephiroth asked.

"It's not far, if you'll follow me, I can take you there," Capt. Nelson said as he started to lead the way.

"Yes, I all ready have a plan for battle and I need to get the orders underway before we waste anymore time." As they walked, they passed several of the barrack buildings. As they passed, Shinra troopers stopped what they were doing and saw the legendary SOLDIER pass by. Those who were able to think quickly enough snapped a salute to their new General. Sephiroth barely paid them any mind; in fact he barely noticed them.

As they walked, Capt. Nelson was pointing out the different structures and saying what they were. When they reached a point where the tall scaffolding system could be seen, he pointed it out and made a comment. "That's the pad site for the Shinra space program. I hear they're going to be launching test rockets there before they send a manned flight into space. There's even a rumor that they may change the name of the town to something more astronautical." Sephiroth merely nodded and continued to follow the Captain as he led the way to the Command office.

When they reached the Command office, they all entered. Sephiroth quickly took in the office and approved of its meager furnishings. In the center of the room was a table that held a three dimensional topographic map of the local area stretching towards the Wutai continent. Placed at certain points on the map were small tokens that represented army units, bomber flights, and naval ships. Other than the map table, there were no decorations along the walls. Standing around the table were three older men, each wearing their dress uniforms of their specific branch of the military. The one wearing the army uniform approached Sephiroth and nodded. Sephiroth noticed the multiple ribbons and medals on his chest and knew that many of them were awarded for battles that were strategically worthless.

"I'm General Huston. This is General Walker of the Air Force, and Admiral Braeburn of the Navy. We're to be the, _staff_, under your command." Sephiroth let a smirk come across his face at the obvious annoyance from Huston, who was perturbed at having to serve under a man who was half his age and had not participated in nearly as many battles as he had. But Sephiroth knew that Huston had a lack luster record for victories, and his performance in this war showed that. Sephiroth knew that he could bring a victory for Shinra and could end this war.

After Gen. Huston introduced the other officers, they each stepped up and nodded. Sephiroth nodded to each very lightly, and then looked towards the map table. "I was placed in command here for one reason; the enemy enforcement at Mount Hitoyama must be assaulted," he said as he pointed the tip of his Murasame at the peak on the map. Gen. Huston lightly shook his head, and spoke as if he were speaking to a child.

"General, I'm sure that you are aware that our forces have never pushed that far into Wutai territory. We have tried before, but the Wutai encampments are dug in." Sephiroth glared at the General and sneered his upper lip.

"That's why I've been put in charge General Huston." Gen. Huston returned the look from the young SOLDIER, but knew that he had all ready lost. Huston shrugged his shoulders, making his many ribbons and medals clink on his chest.

"Of course. We do have several battle plans for advancement into the canyons-"

"I have my own plan General," Sephiroth said, cutting off the other mid-sentence. Huston was obviously enraged, but he maintained himself and merely nodded for Sephiroth to go on. Sephiroth smirked and looked over the large map for a moment before he spoke.

"How many of our men are along this front?" Sephiroth asked as he pointed to the blue line on the map at the southern side of the Wutai continent.

"75,000 men are stationed along the 15 mile front. Each battalion is reinforced with-"

"And how many are stationed here in Lansing?" Sephiroth said, again cutting off Huston.

"50,000 here in reserve. We rotate them out with those in the front. It keeps the men better prepared if they are rested-"

"And how many men are stationed abroad?" General Huston's face was turning red at the constant interruptions by Sephiroth. Sephiroth noticed, but only raised an eyebrow when the General did not answer.

"About 100,000 in local garrisons and bases." Huston was waiting for the interruption this time, but none came. Sephiroth continued to focus on the map for a second before he looked to Admiral Braeburn.

"How many ships are in the area?" Admiral Braeburn stepped forward and quickly pointed to the two markers on the map that were representative of ship formations.

"Three battleships, six cruisers, and eighteen destroyers, sir." Sephiroth nodded and continued to look at the map. Locke, Bakusa, and Loran were each trying to stifle the laughter that was coming upon them as they looked at the expression on General Huston's face as he stared at the Admiral wondering why he was not being cut off like he had been. Sephiroth noticed the look too, and smirked as he asked the Admiral another question.

"How many troop transport ships?" The Admiral looked down at the map and paused for a moment before he answered.

"Roughly 15, but there are 50 other ships in the area. They can all be here within one week." Sephiroth nodded and then looked to General Walker.

"How many bombers?" Walker came to attention and quickly responded.

"125 fully crewed bombers and the _Highwind_." Sephiroth nodded and then began to pick up markers that were along side the table and began to place them on the map, explaining his plan as he went along.

"Very well. This is the general overview of the plan. I want all 100,000 men stationed abroad to be brought here, mainly by those troop transport ships you mentioned before Admiral. Of the reserves that are all ready stationed here, 25,000 will go to the Southern Wutai front lines. However, that's not to be the main attack, it's a diversion. The real attack will come from here, by way of three naval fleets carrying the 125,000 men. We will then proceed across the Sea of Wutai and will land at this beach," here Sephiroth pointed to a beach 10 kilometers away from Mount Hitoyama. Admiral Braeburn was about to voice his concern, but General Huston spoke first, again chiding Sephiroth as if he were a little boy.

"General, I'm not sure what SOLDIER has kept you doing during this war, but no assault of any kind has ever been able to cross the Sea of Wutai. Their Leviathan creature protects their shores." Sephiroth sneered and shot Huston a death glare before he responded in a low malice filled voice.

"I know that General. That's why I, along with my squad, will place ourselves on the lead ship; the Leviathan has always proved to attack the lead ship in all of the previous attempts to cross the sea. Once we deal with it, we can then advance to the beach head. Any other comments, General?" Huston lightly shook his head, but returned a glare of dislike to Sephiroth. Sephiroth continued to glare at Huston before he looked back to the map and continued to explain his strategy.

"Once the Leviathan is dealt with, the bomber squadrons will bombard the beach head eliminating any defensive positions that may be held there. Once we land, 50,000 men will then proceed down into the canyon system to attack the Wutai forces while the Shinra forces along the Southern front will press northwards trapping the Wutai army. The other 75,000 men at the landing zone will build a new line of fortification from the beach towards the foot of the Shinto Mountains and will wait for the rest of the forces to meet up with them. As for Mount Hitoyama itself, I will lead an entire battalion made up of SOLDIER in the assault. Once the Mountain is taken and the rest of the army has met up at the new line, we will advance towards Wutai City and capture their capital. Any questions?" The three members of Sephiroth's General Staff looked at each other and shook their heads. Sephiroth smirked and nodded before he spoke. "Very well. I'll leave the details up to you, but no orders are official without my signature. You have 7 days before we launch this attack, I suggest you hurry." The three officers saluted, Huston's was the weakest, and then they proceeded to enter the connecting room where their offices were held.

When they were gone, Sephiroth was left with his squad. Bakusa leaned over the table and scratched the back of his head.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Sephiroth looked at him and let a smirk come across his face.

"Of course it'll work. You don't think it will?"

"Well I never said that, it just seems to be a little confusing to me, that's all." Locke laughed and slapped Bakusa on the back.

"Well how about we just point you in the right direction and tell you to kick ass?" Bakusa laughed, and nodded his head.

"That sounds like a plan to me!" Sephiroth shook his head at the simplicity of Bakusa, and saw Loran looking over the battle plan with a look of concern on her face.

"What do you think?" Sephiroth asked. Loran looked up and shrugged.

"It's pretty complex. Do you think you can trust the Shinra army to stop any attack from Wutai City? We really have no idea how many soldiers they have there."

"They can stop an attack as long as they stay on the defense. If they were to go on the attack before the rest of the army arrived, that would be a different story." Then the door to the office area opened, and a young Lieutenant snapped to attention. Sephiroth gave the young officer his attention and the Lieutenant nervously spoke.

"Sir, your staff is ready for you to start signing the official orders, sir." Sephiroth nodded and the Lieutenant left the room, closing the door behind him. Sephiroth looked to his squad and gave a light nod.

"It may be some time before we see any action, but don't get rusty. Continue to practice with that new materia I gave you." With that, Sephiroth then moved into the office and closed the door behind him.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter XXI

Five days after arriving, the attack force, commonly being called the Army of Wutai in an optimistic hope that they would soon be occupying the nation, was nearing completion. Sephiroth now stood on a hill looking down at the large army, numbering near 150,000 men. The usual metal barrack buildings were too few to house all of these soldiers, so the majority of them were camping out in the fields. While the majority of this army was conscripts for the regular army, 500 members of the force were members of SOLDIER. Sephiroth had spoken to the Captains of the squads of SOLDIER, and expressed to them that they were to be his personal army when they attacked the beaches of Wutai, and then advance to Mount Hitoyama.

Though there were roughly 125 squads, he organized them into three main companies, and hand picked three Captains to become his Colonels in the field.

As Sephiroth watched, the three Companies of SOLDIER were all drilling in one fashion or another. Sephiroth could see that his 500 man SOLDIER army was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Though there were airplanes and helicopters taking off constantly, the low resonating hum of a long range helicopter caught his attention. Sephiroth saw the helicopter begin to land closer to the town, and knew who it was that had arrived. Quickly he came down from the hill and got into the small transport that Locke was driving.

"Done sight seeing boss?" Locke asked as he started the engine. Sephiroth merely glanced at Locke before he pointed to the descending helicopter.

"Drive there." Locke nodded and put the transport into gear. When they arrived, the helicopter's propellers were just winding down and the side passenger hatch was opening. From inside, the lumbering form of Cinna came out carrying a large box, with a look on his face as if he were about to be sick. Locke patted Cinna on the back and showed a face of mock concern.

"Hey, you all right? You don't look like you enjoy helicopter rides too much, now do you?" Locke asked. Cinna tried to lightly laugh, but his queezy stomach said otherwise. Sephiroth made a motion with his hand for Cinna to approach, and the weapon-smith came up to him carrying the long box. Cinna placed the box on the hood of the transport and began to undo the tie straps that were holding the package together. Doing this seemed to make Cinna forget his upset stomach.

"All right! Now this metal was a lot harder to work with than I anticipated, but I swear on my own mother's grave that this sword won't ever break! I call it the Masamune." Cinna pulled the long deadly blade out of the box and presented it to Sephiroth. Sephiroth took it in his left hand and marveled at its long blade that seemed to ask for blood to be put on it. Both Locke and Cinna were taken back when they saw a genuine smile come across Sephiroth's face.

To test out his new blade, Sephiroth quickly gripped the sword in both of his hands, and quickly brought it over his shoulder in a massive swing, but stopped short of hitting the ground. Though the sword weighed more than a normal person would be able to handle, Sephiroth was able to bring the massive blade to a stop instantly. Sephiroth then looked to Cinna, and gave him a satisfactory nod. Cinna's face turned into one big grin at finally being able to produce a blade that Sephiroth was happy with.

Sephiroth held the sword in his left hand with the blade going behind him and caught Locke's attention. "Make sure Cinna gets the best room in the town Inn. He's had a long trip and deserves a rest before he heads back," and then Sephiroth walked towards his command building. Locke shrugged and patted Cinna on the back.

"That's one hell of a sword you must have made to put him in that good of a mood." Cinna, while sporting a large satisfied grin, shrugged and Locke led him towards the town Inn.

Sephiroth entered his Command office and strode over to his desk. Staff members were busy filing reports and supply requests and barely looked up when he entered, but they took a second look when they saw the massive sword in his hand. When Sephiroth sat down, he placed his new blade on his desk and began to quickly read over the reports and orders that were in his In Box. As he quickly signed a few of the orders, Loran came up and leaned over on his desk, looking at his new sword. The blade itself was a bright steel color that was perfectly straight. The handle was wrapped in a blue dyed ray skin and the pommel was made of polished brass. She let out a low whistle as she took in the sight of the massive Masamune. Sephiroth looked up from his papers and lightly smirked.

"May I?" Loran asked as she pointed at the sword. Sephiroth lightly nodded and continued to read over the papers, but looked at Loran without raising his head. She picked the massive sword up and held it with both hands in front of her in the ready stance that they had taught her in training camp. To her, the blade did feel balanced, but it was still immensely heavy. She looked around to make sure no one was in the way and took a practice swing. She tried to stop the blade mid swing, but the momentum from the heavy sword tipped her off balance. She was able to catch herself, but she felt embarrassed, so she placed the sword back on the table.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to use that thing?" she asked. Sephiroth looked up and smirked.

"Of course," was all he said before he went back to his work. Loran shook her head and sat on the edge of the desk with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I guess you'd be the only one who could." Sephiroth lightly looked up for a second, and after realizing that she was not going to leave, he asked a question.

"Where's Bakusa?" Loran shrugged and motioned with her head in the direction off the door.

"Last I saw he was chasing after a group of female Shinra MPs." Sephiroth let out a single sound that could have been taken for a laugh.

"Humph. One day he's going to get in trouble for that."

"He's never got into trouble about that with you?" Loran asked. Sephiroth briefly looked up from signing another order and shrugged.

"It's never interfered with a mission before. Maybe you should go check on him, we all need to be uninjured for the invasion." Loran nodded and then got off of his desk to head out of the Command office. Sephiroth took the signed stack of orders and placed them in his Out Box. He stood from his desk before more orders came, picked up his Masamune, and went outside to watch the troops prepare for the invasion.

* * *

At dusk, Sephiroth stood on his hill watching the troops prepare to depart for the southern front. As he watched the Shinra troopers board their transport ships, Admiral Braeburn walked up the hill and stood next to him.

"Sir, the troops should be ready to depart within the hour. The rest of the army will arrive shortly with the remaining transport ships," Braeburn said. Sephiroth briefly looked to the Admiral and nodded.

"They arrived here earlier than expected," Sephiroth said, more like a statement than a question.

"Yes sir, I told them to get here as quickly as they could, or I would hold them personally responsible." Sephiroth smirked and then turned to face the Admiral.

"How long until they reach the southern front?" The Admiral did some quick mental calculations and then answered.

"They'll land in four hours and will be at the front in six."

"How long will the trip from here take to the main landing site?"

"Six hours sir." Sephiroth smirked at the quick efficiency of the Admiral and began to make his way down the hill.

"We depart at dawn for the main invasion. Admiral, you can use the _Highwind_ as your command vessel. It'll have a better vantage point than any other ship." Braeburn nodded and gave a salute, then gave one final look at the troop transport ships before leaving the hill himself.

* * *

In the mess hall, the rest of Sephiroth's squad was sitting with the other members of SOLDIER eating their last meal before the mission. Loran lifted a spoonful of the green sludge that was supposed to be trout almandine and let it fall back onto the plate. Locke, who was laughing to himself at the ongoing failure of Bakusa's romantic conquest, noticed Loran's mood of melancholy and decided that he could stand it no more.

"So Loran, what's up? You've been moping about since we got here." Loran lightly shrugged and shook her head dejectedly.

"It's nothing, really," she said and tried to leave it at that. Locke squinted at Loran as a smirk came across his face and he then shook his head.

"Na, I've seen that look plenty of times before. If I had to guess, I'd say you've got romantic feelings for someone who doesn't have them back, am I right?" Loran quickly looked at Locke and wondered how it was that he knew her secret that she thought that she had been hiding so well. Locke saw her expression and let out a small laugh.

"Hey, Bakusa's the dim witted one remember?" They both shared a light laugh, and Bakusa, at hearing his name, broke away from his flirting long enough to ask if he had heard his name.

"You say my name?"

"Na, it must have been that red head who just walked by," Locke said as he gave a silent wink to Loran. Bakusa quickly looked around and gave Locke a pat on the back.

"Oh yea, I like those red heads. Watch me go put the moves on," Bakusa said as he ran his hand through his hair and checked his breath and then got up to go find the mystery girl. When he was gone, Loran took in a deep breath and stirred her sludge.

"So am I that transparent?" Locke took a drink from his plastic cup and shook his head.

"No not really. So have you talked to him about it?" Loran was about to say that she had tried, but she paused when she realized that she had never said who it was.

"Talked to who?" she said in a conspiratorial way. Locke smiled again and lightly shrugged.

"Well, it's pretty easy to figure out. It's not me cause we're sitting here talking about it, and it's not Bakusa, unless you've totally lost your mind. So that really only leaves one person, am I right?" Loran lightly smirked and nodded her head. Locke nodded and whipped his hands on his napkin.

"So have you talked to him about it?" Loran leaned her head on her hand and shook her head.

"No, I tried, but I ended up just getting into an argument with him about something totally different." Locke shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He took in a deep breath before he gave his advice.

"Well, I'll be honest with you. In the two years that I've been in his squad, I've seen plenty of girls take an interest in him, but he's never really paid them the time of day. He talks to you a lot more than any other girl he's been around. I guess if he were interested in a girl, it'd be you. Hell, me and Bakusa have been giving the boss hell for all the small things between you two. But, in all honesty, I don't see Sephiroth settling down with a girl anytime soon. But don't let it get you down, just stick with it and something's bound to happen. I wouldn't go rushing off and tell him though; he's not really the kind that would know what to do about that. He'd probably act really awkward around you. That's what happened when a secretary tried to give him a Valentine's Day card last year. It was funny really; he'd go out of his way to avoid seeing her for six months. She finally got transferred to the Turks so that ended that." Loran lightly laughed at the thought and gave Locke a smile.

"You know, you're really easy to talk to." Locke shrugged and scratched the back of his head as his face turned a slight shade of red. Loran let out a soft laugh at Locke's embarrassment but she stopped short when Sephiroth sat down next to her at the table. Locke put his toothpick in his mouth and gave Loran a quick wink before he turned to look around for Bakusa. Sephiroth ran his fork through the green mass and grimaced.

"What's this supposed to be?" he said as he leaned over to smell it.

"I think it's supposed to be trout almandine," Loran said as she stifled a laugh at Sephiroth's expression as he reeled back from the mystery meat.

"Well I'll be damned," Locke said as he saw Bakusa came walking back with a large smile on his face.

"Score one for the B-Man! I've got a date lined up with that red head when we get back from Wutai!" Locke shook his head in disbelief and Loran tried to stop from laughing. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and then smirked before he said what came to his mind.

"Good, now you have a reason to get back from the invasion in one piece." Bakusa winced in a melodramatic fashion and clutched both of his hands to his heart.

"Oh, that was cold boss! As if I wouldn't give a hundred and ten percent normally. But now that you mention it, I can be a major hero and really impress the ladies."

"Well," Locke said as he shook his head, "at least you can think of something to motivate you to go to battle. Me, it's saving the world from utter destruction, but whatever works for you." Loran could not hold her laughter in any more and erupted in a frenzy of laughter. Locke began to laugh once he heard her start, and even Bakusa began to laugh, even if it was at his own expense. Sephiroth smirked, but a light chuckle did come from him as he shook his head at his squad. It was a welcome light moment before the battle that they all knew would be coming.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter XXII

The deck of the _Prima Vista_ shifted rapidly as the transport ship fought through the rough seas. The ship was nearly vacant, save for a small skeleton crew that was needed for the ship to run. Since this was to be the target ship for the Leviathan, there was no need for the large number of personnel to be present in case the ship needed to be evacuated. Sephiroth stood on the deck and watched the salty spray splash up past the deck and coated the metal with the frothy foam. The _Prima Vista_ had entered this stormy water nearly three hours ago, and though it was not raining, the sky was still a dark overcast blanket of gray. Behind the ship were the other ships that made up the 1st Armada. Fifteen kilometers from the 1st Armada in each flanking direction were the 2nd and 3rd Armadas, each about 8 kilometers back from the leading force, where the _Prima Vista_ was in the lead.

As Sephiroth stood surveying the water for any sign of the Leviathan, the rest of his squad was near, each doing their own thing to keep them prepared. Bakusa was trying to shadow box, but the constant rocking of the ship made him give it up. He then came to stand beside Sephiroth and scratched his head.

"Hey boss, I've been thinking," Bakusa said as he tried to make an intelligent looking face, whether he succeeded or not was debatable. Sephiroth looked at him from the corner of his eye and smirked at the irony, but did not say anything. "It seemed like every group of those Brotherhood ninjas we've ran into always said something about their leader. You think we're going to have to fight him?" Sephiroth shrugged and lightly wiped the sea mist off of his mythril pauldrons.

"It's possible. We may have to fight the entire Brotherhood to stop them from trying to awaken this Weapon, or whatever it is. But don't worry about that now; we have to get past the Leviathan first." Locke looked over from his spot and tossed his toothpick overboard before he reached for a new one in his pocket.

"Well I just hope this big fish shows up soon, I'm getting drenched out here waiting for it."

"It's a dragon," Loran said as she jumped up to sit on a jig head. Locke shrugged and rolled his fresh toothpick to the other side of his mouth.

"Well whatever it is, it better hurry up." Sephiroth lightly agreed and looked high into the gray sky to see if he could spot the _Highwind_. After a moment, he spotted the airship, flying along with the fleet above the 1st Armada. At the present moment, he would much rather be on the _Highwind_, out of this wet and cold environment.

"Hey, what was that?" Bakusa said abruptly as he looked out to the sea in front of the ship.

"What was what?" Locke said as he tried to see what it was that Bakusa was now pointing at.

"Out there, I thought I saw a fin or something come up." Sephiroth squinted his eyes as he surveyed the water, trying to see if he could find it. Without speaking, Sephiroth firmed his grip on the Masamune and walked slowly towards the bow of the ship. As if it was waiting, the massive form of the Leviathan jumped out of the water, spraying the entire ship with sea water. The Leviathan stood out of the water about twenty meters and snarled down at the four SOLDIERs on the deck. The scales of the dragon were a luminescent blue mixed with a slight hint of aquamarine. It would have been a pretty sight if not for the fact that it was rearing its whip like tail for an attack.

Sephiroth and his squad quickly took up their defensive battle stances and ducked as the massive tail came flying across the surface of the ship in an attempt to strike at them. Sephiroth quickly jumped back up and readied his mastered Lightning materia for a quick barrage. The blast hit the Leviathan directly on its chest, but it only seemed to phase the creature slightly before it lunged forward for another attack. This time its massive jaws snapped at Sephiroth, but he jumped back and struck it with the Masamune. The blade pierced the dragon's snout, spilling luminescent purple blood on the deck of the ship.

While the creature's flanks were exposed, Locke opened up with a fierce barrage of lighting-infused bullets that did not pierce the scales of the dragon, but the electricity passed through the beast obviously causing it harm. Loran dove forward and thrust the tips of both of her short swords into the underside of the creature, but the thick skin only allowed half of the blades to go in. Bakusa ran towards the monster's head and punched it in the right eye with his elemental gloves. After the Leviathan had suffered these injuries, it reared back and again towered over the deck of the ship. Sephiroth and his squad regrouped, anticipating another round of attacks from the beast.

But the creature had another plan for the ship. Instead of advancing for another attack, the creature jumped totally out of the water and splashed back into the water in a large arching back flip. For a moment, it seemed as if it had retreated, but the sudden pull on the ship and the massive tail wrapping around the center of the hull let them know that it was not quite finished. As the tail began to constrict, the hull began to produce a sickening moaning sound as the structure began to cave in.

Quickly, they advanced towards the tail, and with blinding speed, Sephiroth jumped into the air and brought down the massive blade in a devastating blow. The blade cut straight through the tail and lodged itself in the decking of the ship. The severed tail flopped erratically and fell into the sea. Sephiroth quickly pulled the Masamune from out of the thick deck plating and readied the blade in his usual fighting stance. From the starboard side, the Leviathan climbed the side of the ship, placing its massive clawed fingers on the deck railing.

As the head of the massive beast came over the side, the bright fires of rage burned on in its eyes. Sephiroth quickly gave the nod to his squad and they each prepared to hit the dragon with a blast from their mastered Lightning materia. The beast roared in fury as the materia orbs began to glow and the electrons gathered. Loran could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up just before the massive blast was formed. The enormous arch of lightning quickly reached out and struck the Leviathan clear in the jaw, creating a large blinding flash that caused an earth shattering crack of thunder that deafened all of the squad as the blast connected. When the blinding flash was gone, all that remained of the Leviathan's head was a smoking blackened fragment that limply fell into the sea. They all went to the railing to see if the creature was done for, and below in the water, they could make out the dissipating green light of the Leviathan disintegrating and returning to the Planet.

Sephiroth let out a sigh as he inspected his blade to see if it had been damaged, but the blade was still spotless, save for a spattering of purple blood. He looked up and quickly looked over his squad. "Everyone all right?" Everyone nodded, so he began to make his way back into the house of the ship, and then on to the bridge.

Once there, the Captain of the ship congratulated them, but then had some bad news. "When the Leviathan was trying to crush the ship, the hull ruptured underneath the water line. She's taking on water, so we're going to have to abandon ship." Sephiroth lightly nodded, and then reached for the transmitter to contact the _Highwind_.

"_Highwind_, this is Sephiroth. We're going to need an emergency evacuation of the _Prima Vista_." The radio transmitter lightly crackled before a response came.

"This is Commander Braeburn. We'll be there in a moment." The Captain of the ship quickly got the 8 other crew members of the ship and everyone went out onto the deck. The _Highwind_ came down and dropped its rope ladder. Sephiroth let the crew of the ship get on first, but the ship's Captain wanted to be the last one off, so Sephiroth followed after his squad departed the deck. Once everyone was aboard, the _Highwind_ took off, and again took up its position above the 1st Armada.

On the bridge of the _Highwind_, Admiral Braeburn congratulated Sephiroth and his squad on a job well done. Sephiroth lightly nodded, and the Admiral went about giving the orders for the three armadas to converge as one and continue to strike towards the landing zone.

Sephiroth stood by the large viewport and watched the ships slowly converging into one massive fleet. Overhead, the sounds soon came of the bomber squadrons passing as they headed towards the landing beaches to take out any opposition that might disrupt the landing. As he watched, Locke came up beside Sephiroth and looked up at the passing bombers.

"That's a hell of a lotta bombers. You think there's going to be much there for them to hit?" Sephiroth crossed his arms and turned around as he answered.

"General Huston doesn't think so, but the Wutainese aren't stupid. The Leviathan was a good deterrent from a sea-born invasion, but I'm sure they planed for the contingency. The beaches are probably lined with heavy guns that can fire on the landing areas. Hopefully, the bombers can take those out and we can land unmolested."

"And what if they don't?" Sephiroth turned around to Locke and smirked.

"Than we take out the guns ourselves." Locke sighed and shook his head in resignation.

"I kind of figured it be like that."


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this update today, I had to find an alternate internet source since my cable modem decided to go visit the Dodo birds in the great island in the sky.

* * *

Chapter XXIII

An hour after the bombers had passed, they again passed over the _Highwind_, this time heading back to their airfields. Sephiroth did not have to count them to see that there were fewer bombers returning than had originally departed. When they were passing overhead, Sephiroth picked up the communicator and spoke to one of the pilots.

"Report what you've encountered," Sephiroth said quickly into the handset. Through the crackling static, the pilot responded.

"Heavy anti-aircraft fire from the surface hit us pretty hard. The beaches are covered in dense fog, so we weren't able to see if our bombs were affective. From what we could see, it didn't appear that there were any heavy guns there." Sephiroth quickly acknowledged the response and put the communicator down. By the observation window, the rest of his squad was standing around waiting for the news.

"What's the word boss?" Bakusa asked as he flexed his fingers in his gloves. Sephiroth looked out of the window and surveyed the distant shapes on the horizon that was the Wutai coast.

"They encountered anti-aircraft fire, but they don't know if there were any heavy guns or not. Admiral," he said as he called for the Admiral's attention. Admiral Braeburn approached, and Sephiroth told him what the bomber pilot had said.

"It could be that there are no big guns there, but it wouldn't hurt to organize the fleet just in case." Sephiroth nodded in agreement and let the Admiral go about ordering the fleet to spread out just in case the Wutai defensive forces had any large guns that could target the ships.

For the next hour, they stood on the bridge watching the distant mist concealed cliffs of Wutai as they came closer and closer. The landing beach was clearly visible between the large cliff walls that flanked it on both sides. For a brief and shining moment, it seemed as if their invasion would not run into any opposition, but if anyone thought so, they thought too soon.

At first it appeared like tiny flashes of lightning, but it was coming from the cliffs instead of the clouds. Soon the high pitched whistling of the spiraling projectiles filled the air as they drove forward and impacted with the sea, sending large cascades of water flying into the air. When the shells exploded under the water, they forced even more water up and rocked the ships with a great jarring force. After the shells had exploded, the tremendous rumble of thunder filled the air as the sound of the guns firing reached the fleet and the _Highwind_.

After the initial shock of the explosions, Sephiroth quickly counted the bright flares on the cliffs and saw that there were six guns in three separate batteries. As the crew of the _Highwind_ began to run between stations on the ship as the Battle-Stations klaxon sounded, Sephiroth quickly went to Admiral Braeburn and gave his orders.

"Admiral, have the advance landing crafts launched; I want all 500 SOLDIERs on that beach immediately! Commander Prescott, do you have four parachutes?" Admiral Braeburn quickly nodded and was all ready on the radio giving the orders for the fleet to spread out and speed up and to launch the advance landing craft with the members of SOLDIER on board. Commander Prescott seemed bewildered by Sephiroth's request but nodded.

"Yes sir, we have plenty of parachutes. But why may I ask?" Sephiroth briefly smirked as he gave a hand motion to his squad to follow him.

"Because we need to take out those guns before they destroy the fleet, and unless you want to land the _Highwind_ in that battlefield, we're going to drop in and take them out from behind." Commander Prescott lightly nodded, though his color seemed to turn a shade paler than his usual hue. He knew that flying over the guns and dropping Sephiroth and his squad was safer for his ship than landing and being open to enemy fire, but it would still leave the _Highwind_ vulnerable to the anti-aircraft fire. He swallowed as he put any thought of injury out of his mind and then gave the order for the _Highwind_ to accelerate and gain altitude.

* * *

They were all now in a smaller room in the lowest part of the _Highwind_ which was used to bring in cargo crates. It was the perfect area to launch parachutes from since it had a large hatch that opened to the air outside. Sephiroth tugged on his parachute's harness to make sure it was on securely, and then looked to the rest of his squad. Bakusa was breathing deeply as he tightened his parachute straps to the point where it made it hard to breathe. Loran was securing her twin short swords in their scabbards and then closing her eyes to steady her nerves. Locke was making sure that his two pistols were firmly in their holsters and secured the straps over the hammers to keep the guns in their place. After he checked to make sure that all 20 of his fully loaded magazines were secure, he looked up to Sephiroth and noticed that he was standing there as calmly as ever.

"Geez, don't you ever get nervous or anything?" he said. Sephiroth looked at him and merely shrugged with the same smirk on his face that they had seen countless times before.

"There's no reason to get nervous; anxious maybe, but not nervous. Commander," Sephiroth said as he pushed a button on the intercom on the bulkhead.

"Yes sir," Commander Prescott's voice said over the speaker; the sounds of the bridge crew busily doing their duties could be heard quite clearly.

"How long until the landing zone?" Sephiroth asked. There was a brief pause, but the Commander quickly answered.

"ETA five minutes. You guys better hold on, when they start firing on the ol' girl we're going to have to take some evasive actions." Sephiroth acknowledged and turned the intercom off. He then flipped the switch to lower the ramp, which slowly opened with the sound of the hydraulic motors. When the ramp was fully lowered, the quick wisps of fog and cloud hung onto the ramp and trailed behind the airship. The wind rushed into the compartment but quickly left just as swiftly as it had come in. Sephiroth walked forward and looked down at the sea behind them, and saw the advance landing crafts rushing away from the fleet on their journey towards the beach. The landing crafts were long armored boats that were able to reach speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour and could carry a hundred personnel. Sephiroth knew that they would reach the beaches minutes after he himself had landed. The rest of the army would get to the beach by other smaller boats that were not as well armored or nearly as fast.

Sephiroth turned back around when the sounds of the large cliff guns began to shake the very decking of the _Highwind_. The thunderous report of the large guns was deafening, but soon the sounds of much lighter and closer explosions could be heard. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the new sounds, but the thick black clouds that the airship had passed let him know that they were now being targeted with anti-aircraft fire. The _Highwind_ swayed back and forth as she moved in an attempt to avoid the enemy fire, but the sound of shrapnel hitting the hull with a loud metallic thud echoed over the hull from multiple spots. At one point, the airship rocked violently as one of the shells impacted directly under one of the rear pylons causing smoke to billow out of the rear of the _Highwind_. Sephiroth briefly looked up from the ramp and saw the small fire that was now burning on the end of the airship. The speaker on the bulkhead quickly came on with a static pop and Commander Prescott's voice called out: "Landing zone below, landing zone below!"

Sephiroth briefly nodded to his squad and then simply leaped off of the ramp into the cloudy chaos of the battle zone. Quickly Locke, Bakusa, and Loran jumped out of the _Highwind_ and followed Sephiroth down into the fray.

Sephiroth flew in head first, his silver hair flowing behind him, with his arms lightly held at his sides and with his Masamune firmly in his hand. He briefly looked up to see the other three members of his squad following, and saw the _Highwind_ pulling back to the main fleet while billowing smoke out of one of its many sustained injuries. Sephiroth turned back around and focused on the three batteries of guns that were firing on the navy armada. The anti-aircraft cannons were now trying to fire on them, but their quick speed was preventing their explosions to be effective. Tracer rounds from large machine guns were arcing through the sky trying to hit them, but Sephiroth quickly sent a ball of flame from his materia down and silenced these guns permanently.

The ground was quickly approaching him, so he pulled his shoot at the last possible moment. The sudden reduction in speed made him jerk back, but he continued on his course towards the farthest battery. He maneuvered himself to be above the twin barrels that stuck out of the large rock faced bunker and then with a swift flick of the Masamune, he cut the cords for his parachute and fell the three story distance and landed in a crouch on one of the barrels.

He lightly looked up and saw the shocked faces of the gun crew as they stared at the man who had just came out of no where. Sephiroth smirked at the dumb look on their faces before he quickly stood up and swung his Masamune in a terrific uppercut that sent a bright blast of spirit energy down the length of the barrel. Sephiroth quickly jumped off just as the barrel split into two down the entire length and exposed the now useless chamber. He then brought the shimmering blade down hard on the other barrel, slicing it cleanly off, and before he passed from view of the bunker, he shot a massive high level fire blast into the bunker. He hit the ground below the bunker just as the munitions that were stored in the bunker erupted in a massive cascade of rock and metal. Loran, Locke, and Bakusa had landed on the ground moments before Sephiroth had sent the fireball into the bunker, but only had a very brief moment before the debris began to fall. Loran quickly used her Barrier materia to erect a shield for all of the squad just as the debris began to hit the ground. When the torrent of rock and metal was finished, she lowered the barrier and gave Sephiroth a dirty look.

"You didn't think about what that would do before you launched that fireball, did you?" Sephiroth lightly smirked and let out a chuckle of delight as he began to run towards the next battery.

"I didn't have to, you were there," Sephiroth said as he charged a group of startled Wutai soldiers who were trying to set up a line of defense. Sephiroth quickly swung the blade of the Masamune and in one movement, they all fell dead. Before he entered the battery bunker though, the sound of charging reinforcements came from the distance. Sephiroth briefly sneered and then looked up to the bunker.

"Bakusa, Loran- take out this bunker! Locke, you're with me!" Loran and Bakusa quickly nodded and then charged into the bunker. Sephiroth and Locke then charged the now visible enemy force, quickly beginning to cut down one Wutai soldier after another.

Locke took aim with his pistols and released a fury of bullets that cut down the enemy in a blazing scene of death. Sephiroth jumped into the enemy lines, and though they tried firing at him with their rifles, and tried to cut him down with their swords, Sephiroth dodged each move and sliced through the troops with his massive blade.

Inside the bunker, Loran quickly cut through one of the gun's crews while Bakusa unleashed his wrath onto the other gun's crew. His fists impacted on the faces and ribs of the soldiers, cracking bones with an audible sound that was gut-retching to hear. When they were all down, Loran looked to Bakusa and shrugged her shoulders.

"Just how does he want us to take care of these guns? I don't think we can blow them like he did and still get out of here alive." Bakusa breathed hard as he caught his breath and scratched the back of his head.

"Maybe we can melt them with lightning or something," he said. Loran raised both of her eyebrows at the thought, and could not find any flaw in the idea. She nodded, and then they both focused on the two guns, and sent a blast of lightning into the mechanism of the cannons. The metal of the guns began to glow, and then began to droop as the metal melted, making the guns totally useless. When they were done, they gave each other a high five, and made their way back outside where Locke and Sephiroth were.

When Loran and Bakusa exited the bunker, they found Locke and Sephiroth standing over the corpses of the enemy. Sephiroth lightly nodded and then began to make his way to the third bunker, but stopped when the bunker erupted in a massive ball of fire. He was taken back by the unexpected explosion, but quickly recovered and began to run towards the fire raged bunker.

At first, Sephiroth could not understand what had happened to the bunker, but then he saw the familiar form of troops equipped with the blue battle tunic of SOLDIER. Colonel Garson, one of the leaders of the three battalions, came up to Sephiroth and snapped a quick salute. Sephiroth returned the salute and looked up at the burning bunker. The other two Colonels saw their General and also came up to their leader.

"We took the initiative to destroy this bunker sir," Colonel Garson said. Sephiroth nodded and then turned around to see Mount Hitoyama in the distance. The ten kilometer distance did not seem far at all, but Sephiroth knew he had to wait until the bulk of the army had landed. He let out a sigh of frustration at having to wait, and turned back to Colonel Garson.

"Have your men secure the beach. I want the rest of SOLDIER to secure both flanks in a circle around this area and be prepared to march towards the mountain fortress." The three Colonels snapped a salute and went about to issue their orders. Sephiroth surveyed the beach and watched as the SOLDIERs disembarked from the landing crafts that had beached themselves on the sand. About a kilometer out to sea, he could see the fleet and the many smaller slower landing crafts approaching the beach. He gave himself an estimate of about thirty minutes before they would begin to arrive. Their actions would be under the direct command of General Huston. Though Sephiroth did not care for the man, he should be able to lead the regular army into the canyons and capture the Wutai forces there. Sephiroth knew that once the Ryuujin Brotherhood was dealt with, and this Awakening that they kept speaking of was stopped, he could more easily focus on the main drive for the Wutai capital.

Sephiroth turned to his squad members, who were covered in dirt and soot from the fires and smoke, and gave them a nod of satisfaction. "You did well, all of you. We'll move out once the first wave of troops land. Until then, take a break. Here," he said as he focused on his mastered Restore materia, and encompassed his entire squad with the glowing green light. Though they were fatigued, the warm green glow flowed over them and reinvigorated them with a renewed strength. Sephiroth lightly nodded and then turned to watch the SOLDIERs go about their duties.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter XXIV

Forty minutes had passed, and now the SOLDIERs were on the move. Sephiroth let a small smile cross his lips as he ran at full speed, followed by the 500 men that he was leading into combat. The sun was now high in the sky, though it's light was barely seen due to the thick overcast sky that was playing its dirge of battle. Lightning streaked through the sky and the thunder echoed off of the mountain face. The torrential rain gave no warning before it began to pour with an unrelenting fury. Though the storm was making it hard for him to see the path before him, he also knew that it made their approach less visible to the enemy; those members of the Ryuujin Brotherhood that were now in their mountain fortress preparing their Awakening of their Dragon God.

Sephiroth continued to lead the men for what seemed to be an eternity, filled only with the sounds of their boots splattering in the muddy trail as the thunder announced their arrival. When Sephiroth reached the last wooded area before the large expanse of cleared land before the foot of Mount Hitoyama, he raised his clenched fist into the air, and then gave the sign for the squads to seek cover in the trees. As Sephiroth watched the ominous form of the mountain from the cover of a thick shrub, the three Colonels came up to receive their orders. The members of Sephiroth's squad kneeled down behind him and peered over his shoulder at the seemingly innocent mountain. Sephiroth turned around, and thought for a moment before he spoke.

"What do you see out there?" Locke asked as he tried again to see the mountain. Sephiroth lightly shook his head, sending the collecting droplets of rain to fall off of his nose and face.

"There's only one entrance that I can see, and it's guarded by two posted sentries."

"It has to be a trap," Colonel Garson said. "There's no way that they don't know we're coming." Sephiroth nodded and again took a look at the mountain's only visible entrance. He made a low audible growl of dissatisfaction and then turned back around.

"If we had time, I'd call for an artillery strike, but we'll have to make due without it. Have all your men equip their Barrier Materia and then have the squads split up to surround the mountain while staying in the wooded cover. Tell them to attack on my signal." The three Colonels saluted, and quietly went to their companies to pass on the orders. Sephiroth looked to his squad, and gave the nod for them to do the same. Each one of them removed a materia orb from their armlets and replaced it with their Barrier Materia.

Sephiroth waited in silence, the only sound he could hear besides the thunder was the rain pelting his mythril pauldrons. After ten minutes of waiting, the quick double flash of red lensed flashlights let him know that all the squads were in position. He lightly turned to his squad, and with a smirk, he stood and quietly stepped out of the wooded cover. In a quick motion, he erected his barrier, and then sent a quick fire ball into the air, the signal to advance.

With a quick proficiency that only comes with rigorous training, the 500 members of SOLDIER all erected their barriers, and then charged the mountain. As if on cue, camouflaged hatches on the mountain face dropped open, and the flicking flare of machine gun fire lashed out and sent their deadly projectiles at the advancing force. Sephiroth readied his blade, smirking at the bullets as they ricocheted off of his barrier, and charged the entrance to the fortress. The two standing guards ran forward, and soon, hundreds of other Brotherhood members began to charge out, all equipped with thick red armor and the slim straight-bladed swords of the ninja. The two advancing forces charged one another, and they clashed in the middle of the clearing with a deafening roar of metal on metal, mixed with the monotonous singular moan of men becoming injured. In the hectic chaos, Sephiroth quickly slashed two of the ninjas down and parried the blow of another. He lightly blocked a few of the attacks before he removed his opponent's head, and then continued to fight his way through the pandemonium.

Locke ducked as one of the blades was aimed at his head, and he then fired both pistols into the ninja's unprotected flank, felling him instantly. Though close quarter combat was not his specialty, he did find it to be quite exciting. Another tried to swing down at him from behind, and the ninja would have been successful, but Sephiroth's Masamune quickly erupted out of the ninja's chest and the lifeless body fell to the ground. Locke gave Sephiroth a thankful nod and then continued on in the battle, shooting another ninja who was about to try and stab Loran in the back.

Loran did not notice Locke's help, and continued to parry and reverse the blows from one ninja who was refusing to make a mistake like the dozen other ninja's that she had vanquished before. Soon though, she caught the thin blade of his sword between her blades, and quickly snapped the sword before she plunged her cold steel into the throat of her aggressor.

Bakusa parried a sword blow off of his armlet and then threw a tremendous right hook that caught the ninja in the side of his head, cracking his skull and taking him out of the combat. Two more attackers advanced on Bakusa, who then put himself into an offensive stance and gave them his best Sephiroth impersonation; a sneering smirk. The two ninjas lunged at Bakusa simultaneously, but Bakusa ducked both of the blows, then performed a back flip kicking both the ninjas under their chins with his metal tipped boots, shattering their jaws with a sickening crunch. As both of the ninjas grabbed for their jaws, Bakusa finished both of them off with a quick rib breaking punch to their abdomens.

Sephiroth looked up from the din of the battle and gave a motion with his head for his squad to follow. He saw Colonel Garson release a large shard of ice into one of the ninjas and then looked for another. Quickly Sephiroth told him to continue to fight while he stormed the mountain fortress. Garson nodded, and then Sephiroth charged to the mouth of the fortress, cutting down offensive ninjas as they tried to take down the silver haired warrior.

When he reached the entrance, he quickly turned to make sure that the rest of his squad was with him. Though they had a few minor cuts and scrapes, they looked to be in prime condition. Sephiroth gave them a light nod, and with a smirk, he said, "Let's go show these ninja's what a SOLDIER is all about."

Into the mountain fortress they ran, cutting down any opposition that they ran into. Though the mountain had numerous tunnels and different routes that they could take, Sephiroth continued to fight on in the direction that the troops kept coming from.

Soon they entered a junction of four different corridors, and he took a moment to pause. The chaotic sounds of the continuing battle could be heard outside, now muffled in the interior of the mountain. The sound of more of the Brotherhood ninjas running echoed through out the corridors, but Sephiroth caught the slightest scent of something that reminded him of Midgar.

"Do you smell that?" he said with a questioning look to his squad. Each member tried to see if they could smell it too. After a moment, Bakusa snapped his fingers at the realization.

"That's Mako fuel!" Once he said that, they all instantly recognized it. Sephiroth tried to smell from which direction it was coming from while the others wondered why Mako fuel would be here.

"What would they need with Mako fuel? I thought Wutai used petroleum based fuels," Locke wondered as he reloaded his pistols. Sephiroth decided that the odor was coming from the corridor that led down deeper into the interior of the mountain.

"They must have use of a generator that makes a lot of power," Loran said as they all began to take off in a hard run down the corridor. As they continued, the decaying sulfurous smell of the Mako fuel became stronger and stronger. Soon, they reached a large chamber that was empty, save for a large metallic door that sealed off the source of the Mako fuel. As Sephiroth quickly looked over the door, Loran looked around and raised an eyebrow.

"Is it just me, or does it seem like there should be guards around this area?" Locke looked around, and noticed the lack of any security in the area.

"Yea. I don't know guys, but this seems mighty suspicious to me."

"Don't worry about it," Sephiroth said as he backed away from the door. "They were probably sent out to fight in the battle outside. Stand back," he said as he readied his blade behind his back in a crouched stance. With a tremendously fast motion, he struck the large door four times in the shape of two X's. The quick spirit energy laden blows shook the door, and it crumbled to the ground in a heap of shattered parts. Through the dust of the fallen doors, they could see the chamber inside.

The inner chamber was dimly lit with torches, mainly on the opposite side of the chamber. The lights did not reveal much, save for a strange formation in the rock wall. At first it appeared to be a bending column that had fallen down, but they soon realized that it was not a column, but a massive coiled tail of a dragon chiseled in what appeared to be the rock of the mountain. On the left most wall of the chamber, the blinking lights of multiple machines gave an odd feeling to the chamber since they felt out of place. Kept inside two large tubes that were connected to the machinery, were the yellow Huge Materia and the purple Huge Materia that they failed to recover from the Brotherhood.

Sephiroth and the others entered the chamber and began to make their way towards the Materia crystals, but a lone figure emerged from the shadows near a control panel for the machines. Though he was still draped in shadow, they could all tell that the figure was tall with an enormous build. Sephiroth strained his eyes as he tried to make them adjust to the low light conditions to focus on what this figure looked like, but before this could happen, the figure spoke.

"I'm so glad you could make it, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to start the festivities without you." All four of them stood there in shock, because they had all heard the voice before. Sephiroth sneered in anger, and said only one word.

"Mortis."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this update, but since it's a good one I think it's worth the wait :)

* * *

Chapter XXV

Mortis let a wicked smirk come across his face as he looked on at the four people who once called him friend as they stared back at him in an enraged stupor. Mortis raised his left hand in a non-threatening manner and a dozen more torch fires lit, filling the chamber with their flickering light.

Now that the chamber was filled with more light, Sephiroth was able to see Mortis clearly, dispelling any possibility that it was not him. It indeed was Mortis, though now he was wearing a black uniform with a red cape draped over his right arm. The scar was more pronounced now in the light, and the fires glimmered off of his defunct eye, making it appear to be a deep shade of crimson.

"Hmm, you look as if you've just seen a ghost," Mortis said as he gave a slight sneering smile, barring some of his white teeth. Bakusa swallowed and broke the silence on their end.

"Y-you're supposed to be dead," he said in a small voice. Mortis let out a crackling laugh that seemed excruciatingly loud in the small chamber.

"Astute as ever, Bakusa. And here I was thinking that Locke was the more intelligent out of the two of you." Sephiroth glared at Mortis, but Mortis only continued on his chuckling manner.

"What's going on here Mortis? When did you join the Brotherhood? Was it after we left you in that cavern?" Sephiroth asked in a shaking voice; it took all of his mental strength to hold back from just lunging at the traitor. Mortis could see this, and again let out a light laugh in his deep signature.

"You truly are just a simple pawn of Shinra, boy. Anyone with the slightest hint of intelligence would have known what was really going on. But don't feel sorry, I was once just as you are, a tool to be used indiscriminately. But I realized this, and quit Shinra's personal dog pen and went out into the world. But it was out there that I soon realized that the entire world is run by Shinras, all exploiting others for their own gain. It was then that I found the Brotherhood. Before long, I rose to become their Leader, and I will enact what it is that they have preached for hundreds of years."

"The Awakening?" Sephiroth said in a sarcastic tone in an attempt to provoke Mortis into making the first move. However, Mortis only nodded, and continued to explain.

"Yes. To many in the Brotherhood, it was only a legend, but I found a report telling of these things they call Weapon. I realized that if I were to awaken one of these monstrosities, I could cleanse this world of all the Shinras, and of all those who would rise to take their place!"

"You're insane," Sephiroth said blatantly. Mortis stared at Sephiroth with a sneer, but then started to laugh loudly again.

"Perhaps you're right boy. Perhaps you're right. But there's nothing you, or anyone else can do to stop me!" Sephiroth quickly scanned the room to see if there was some sort of trap that Mortis had waiting for them, but he could see nothing besides the strange computer-mechanical contraption holding the two Huge Materias and the large stone figure of the prone sleeping Dragon. Sephiroth quickly entertained the idea of just attacking Mortis head on, but he knew that Mortis could not be underestimated like any of the other members of the Brotherhood; he was after all, a member of SOLDIER. He knew that he would have to distract Mortis in some way to lower his defenses for just a brief moment to leave him open for attack. It was then that Sephiroth's gaze drifted back to the two Huge Materia crystals in their experimental tubes.

"How do you plan on awakening that thing with only two of the Materias? We stopped you from getting the other three, remember?" Mortis lightly shook his head and then let out another chain of gravely laughter.

"Oh, one is plenty to awaken Him, it always was. The more crystals that I can expend only make the Ryuujin that much more stronger. In actuality, though one is enough to awaken Him, I wanted to be sure. Because you see, there was one variable that worried me; you, Sephiroth. I had heard the stories about your strength, whether they be exaggerated or not. I had to know for myself just how strong you were. That's why I had one of my operatives break into the Shinra library and steal your file. It didn't reveal anything other than what was public knowledge." Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at this, but began to wonder something else.

"If you sent an operative in, why did you come back to SOLDIER on the same day?" Mortis smirked, and obliged Sephiroth with the answer.

"That's simple, boy. I learned that the Wutai Army had found the yellow Huge Materia here on this continent. I made a deal with them for it, in return I offered the Brotherhood to fight on their side. Rumors had come to me about another Materia being near Mideel, but I needed to know where the others were at. I let a Wutai transport ship be seen, and then came back to SOLDIER just when they were going to send an investigative team. I knew then that that despicable scientist Hojo would be able to locate the other crystals. After that, it was only a matter of making it appear I was dead, and send my operatives to retrieve the other Materias. You did prove to be stronger than I thought; after all, you stopped all of my operatives from retrieving the Materia crystals. But, I did fight along side you and I know that two of the crystals will be enough to make the Ryuujin stronger than you can possibly imagine."

Sephiroth sneered at this, and threw all caution to the wind. He quickly dashed towards Mortis with his Masamune held high. Mortis saw the attack coming and quickly brought his lance up to parry the blow. Once the massive blade bounced off of his lance, Mortis jumped back to the platform and laughed louder than he did before.

"I wondered how long a brash boy like yourself would listen to my talk before attacking. Now, let me show you the fully mastered technique of Transmogrification!" Suddenly Mortis opened his wounded eye, revealing that there in fact was no glass eye, but the red orb of a summon materia!

The orb began to glow with a fierce fire of power, but instead of being consumed in red flame like the others before, Mortis was covered in flickering black flames. The flames began to grow and form a strange husk over Mortis that was twice his normal size. Mortis brought his arms together as the flames consumed him, and then he pushed his arms out, sending the black fire away from his body. Mortis was now transformed into a twelve foot tall black armor-clad knight of a period long past. Both of his eyes glowed a deep crimson as he looked down at the now small silver haired soldier. Mortis now sneered and showed his long black fangs. In a voice that was much deeper and had a demonic echo, Mortis taunted the four small members of SOLDIER.

"The process took years to master, but now, I can fully control the transformation. Now, you pitiful dogs, you will taste the fell blade of Odin: the Zantetsuken!!!"

Mortis then held out his right hand, where the blade was summoned by a tower of black flames. The sword was nearly twice as large as Sephiroth was tall, and was strangely designed with small metal blades that jutted out from the main blade giving it the appearance that the smaller blades were like flames from the main sword. The steel was a strange luminescent black that seemed to absorb light more than it did reflect it.

Sephiroth did not wait for Mortis to attack him, instead choosing to move first. Sephiroth quickly lunged forward at Mortis, holding his Masamune high and aiming the tip directly at Mortis's heart. The Masamune was brutally deflected by the massive Zantetsuken. The shear force of the towering blade caused Sephiroth to slightly loose his balance as he continued to charge. Sephiroth attempted to bring his Masamune back into range for another attack, but Mortis raised his free hand, and blasted Sephiroth quickly with an unrelenting surge of lightning. Sephiroth only had the time to brace for the attack, which sent him reeling backwards only to be stopped by the far wall.

Locke, as he watched his General flying to the wall like a rag doll, quickly brought up his twin pistols and opened fire with a mighty barrage of bullets, but looked on in shock as the bullets only seemed to be absorbed by Mortis's armor with tiny flickers of black flame. Mortis obviously could tell he was attacking because he now focused on Locke, and sent a spiraling fireball in his direction. Locke let out a curse as he ungracefully jumped out of its path of destruction. The fireball hit the rock wall behind him and dissipated away from it's focal point.

Loran took the moment of Mortis's distraction to charge him from his flank. She quickly unleashed a series of swings with her short swords, but her blows merely ricocheted off of his demonic armor. By the time she was able to locate a chink in his armor, Mortis was quickly turning on her with a massive downward swing from the Zantetsuken. Loran saw the deadly blade swinging down in her direction, and quickly performed a back flip to get out of it's deadly course. She landed in a crouch just as the blade hit, shaking the ground as the earth split in a thousand different cracks and fissures.

Bakusa took in a deep breath and charged in while the Zantetsuken was lodged in the ground. Mortis caught his movement from the corner of his eye and tried to pull the mighty blade from the ground, but Bakusa was too fast. Mortis then placed all of his weight on his right leg and lifted up his left into a swirling roundhouse kick directed towards Bakusa's head. Bakusa was able to slide under the kick, and then jumped forward with an uppercut directed at Mortis's crotch. The blow connected, but Bakusa withdrew his numb hand since it was like hitting a solid granite wall. Mortis pulled back his left fist and hurled it down at Bakusa. Though his hand was throbbing, he saw the enormous fist coming his way, so he scrambled out of the way just as the blow connected, shattering the earth as if it were a thin piece of rice paper.

Sephiroth steadied himself and shook the cobwebs from his mind after hitting the wall. When he looked up, he saw Bakusa get away just before Mortis's fist hit the ground. Sephiroth sneered and firmed his grip on the Masamune and again charged. Mortis saw him coming and again pulled on the Zantetsuken, this time dislodging it from the ground. Sephiroth knew that the massive blade was heavy, and if Mortis could hit his own with a great deal of momentum, it would again send Sephiroth off balance. Instead of getting into a duel with Mortis, Sephiroth lowered his blade to where the tip dragged the earth behind him. With an ethereal fire, the Masamune began to glow with spirit energy just as Sephiroth swung the blade at Mortis, flicking the spirit energy at Mortis in a rocketing arc of power. Mortis merely broke the blast with a swing of the Zantetsuken and put a smirk on his face at the seeming weakness of Sephiroth's attacks. But this is what Sephiroth wanted Mortis to think. After he had sent the spirit wave at Mortis, he hunched down onto the ground to get more momentum out of a leap. When Mortis had been focusing on the spirit wave, Sephiroth had lunged from his crouched position and swung the Masamune in a devastating arc that connected with Mortis's armor breastplate. The blow visually stunned Mortis, but as Sephiroth tried to land behind Mortis, Mortis's free hand grabbed Sephiroth and flung him back against the wall. Sephiroth was able to land instead of impacting against it, but he needed a moment to catch his breath.

Locke, who's pistols were now re-equipped with Ice Materia, again unleashed a barrage at Mortis. These bullets did not seem to do any damage either, so before Mortis could respond, he focused on his Fire Materia and unleashed a powerful blast of fire. The blast hit Mortis head on, and though it did not knock him down, it did faze him slightly, causing him to catch himself with a braced foot. Loran took advantage of Mortis's awkward footing and attacked from his behind. She swung her blade at the back of his knee at the unarmored tendon. The blade sank home, spilling the dark red blood that looked black in the lighting. Mortis let out an angry groan, and then backhanded Loran away from his knee. Loran flew backwards and impacted on the wall. She grunted, and slowly picked herself up. Locke looked her way in concern, but she lightly shook her head signaling that she was fine, only winded.

Bakusa, now with a useless right hand, focused on his Materia to save his body from further injury. He chose a Lightning attack this time, and quickly ran in a parallel motion to draw focus away from his injured team mates. The massive crack of thunder sounded as the lightning arced out and struck Mortis. Mortis turned to face Bakusa, though the lightning only seemed to be absorbed by his hell-spawned armor. Bakusa let out a curse at the seeming lack of any Materia that worked against Mortis. But the distraction he gave was all that was needed.

Sephiroth was again on the move and closed the distance between him and Mortis before the traitor could ready the Zantetsuken for another momentum filled swing. Mortis only had the time to bring his demon blade up to block the swing from the Masamune. The two blades collided with an ear-wrenching twang that sent sparks flying. Sephiroth quickly pulled the Masamune back, and again swung from the opposite direction. Mortis moved his blade to block this blow, but the weakness that Sephiroth was looking for was found: the Zantetsuken was too large for quick combat. Sephiroth utilized this weakness and continued the savage barrage of attacks from all directions. Each of them was deflected by Mortis, but there was no way the Odin-fused former SOLDIER could keep up the defense. Mortis knew this, and when Sephiroth swung the Masamune from above, Mortis swung his tree trunk of a leg into Sephiroth's abdomen, forcing the air out of Sephiroth's lungs. Though Sephiroth tried to fight the urge to fall to his knees to catch his breath, it was nearly impossible to not do so. In this moment of weakness, Mortis prepared to swing the Zantetsuken down on Sephiroth, killing the silver haired menace once and for all. As Mortis prepared to swing his blade down, a sudden explosion of a grenade on Mortis's head made him turn around. The distraction was all Sephiroth needed to get away and regroup himself in relative safety.

Locke let out a cheer of triumph as his grenade connected. But his cheers soon went away once he realized that Mortis was coming for him. In no way did Locke want to engage Mortis in close quarter combat, so he began to run along the wall, keeping his distance from Mortis, all the while firing with Fire enhanced rounds. This time, the rounds seemed to connect, but still were too small to do any real damage to Mortis. Mortis tried to chase Locke around the large room, but soon gave up and just launched a Lightning blast at the constantly moving SOLDIER. Locke took the hit directly, and it sent him hurling back where he landed with a thud on the rock floor. His hair was now standing up on end and he was covered in a thin layer of soot. Mortis was about to finish him off, but Loran caught his attention by throwing one of her short swords at him.

The blade bounced off of Mortis's armored back, but it did the job she intended. Mortis sneered and showed his black teeth as he prepared the Zantetsuken for a death bringing blow. Loran had seen how the only element Materia to stun Mortis was Fire, so she now unleashed a wave of fire at the traitor. The blast hit him hard, and though he seemed fazed, he continued to charge Loran.

Bakusa, though as simple as he might have been, was not one to let a lady be attacked, so he forgot about his throbbing hand and charged Mortis, striking him in the small of his back with his left leg. Mortis then backhanded Bakusa with the hand that was holding the Zantetsuken, but as Bakusa flew backwards, he was able to right himself and used the wall to jump back at Mortis, this time swinging hard with a massive roundhouse kick to Mortis's head. Mortis blocked the kick with his armored forearm. Though the pain was now shooting through Bakusa's leg, he did not let that slow him down. When Bakusa landed on the ground, Mortis swung at Bakusa's head, but Bakusa ducked and swung his left leg at the injured knee of Mortis. The kick landed, but Mortis caught Bakusa's foot by clenching it against his injured leg and his free leg into a vice. The pain ripped though Bakusa's ligaments and he clenched his teeth to stop himself from letting out a cry of pain, which he knew was what Mortis wanted to hear.

Loran quickly grabbed her other short sword off of the ground and ran at Mortis to get him to release Bakusa. Mortis saw the pain course through Bakusa's face, but let him go to fight Loran. Mortis sneered as he gripped the Zantetsuken with both hands, and then swung hard at her. Loran saw the massive blade coming, and placed one of her blades into the path of the demon sword. The massive blade struck her sword with a tremendous force, and shattered the blade into a thousand shards. In her shock, she did not see that Mortis was now readying another swing to cut Loran in two. But just as he was about to begin his swing, Bakusa jumped onto Mortis's back, and applied a choke hold. As Mortis fought off the annoyance on his back, he kicked out with his good leg and struck Loran directly in her chest, sending her reeling back away from the fight.

Mortis tried to shake Bakusa off, but the orange haired SOLDIER was proving to be resilient. Mortis could see the edges of his vision begin to blur, and could feel the tingling sensation of Odin begin to leave him. He was not ready for this fight to end, so he grabbed Bakusa's legs, and launched himself into the air, flipping and landing onto his back, crushing Bakusa beneath him. As soon as they hit, Bakusa's grip weakened. Mortis got to his feet and was ready to end the pathetic boy's life.

Locke, with as much speed as he had ever mustered in his life, ran forward and slid as he tried to stop his advance. Quickly he began to unleash a barrage of Fire rounds into the side of Mortis. Though Mortis was getting tired of these distractions just when he was going to finish off one of these attackers, he could see that Bakusa was done fighting. Mortis then gripped his Zantetsuken and prepared to split Locke in two, from head to toe. Locke could see the blow coming, and for a moment thought that this was to be his last moment on earth. But Mortis did not swing his blade down. Instead, he bellowed as the thin blade of a sword sunk into his left flank, and pulled out revealing a deep cut into his side. Mortis turned and hurled himself at Sephiroth, who was now smirking at the injured Mortis. Locke let out a sigh of relief and pulled Bakusa away from the battle and hid Bakusa among the broken rocks near the entrance.

Mortis swung the Zantetsuken and the Masamune met it, again releasing sparks. Together, for what seemed to be an eternity, the two blades struck each other, releasing their anger upon one another with unrelenting fury. Again, Mortis started to show signs of fatigue as he swung and parried with the massive Zantetsuken, and he again used a dirty trick to buy himself some time. This time, Sephiroth was ready for a kick to his stomach, but it was a flying elbow that took him off of balance.

The elbow was not enough to put Sephiroth on his knees again, but it did push him back for a second. It was then that Loran charged with her single short sword, ready to give aid to her General. But Mortis saw her coming. He feinted weakness, and at the last moment he brought the demonic Zantetsuken into an arcing uppercut, hitting Loran across her lower abdomen. The blow sent her spiraling back, and when she hit the ground, her body began to convulse in shock.

Sephiroth watched her limp fragile body fly through the air and thud on the floor. Mortis turned back around to Sephiroth and let a devilish smirk cross his cruel face. Sephiroth's face filled with anger and he charged Mortis with a renewed vigor. Mortis was taken back by this newfound level of speed and was not able to block the Masamune as it swung for his head. Mortis only had enough time to duck his head and the Masamune bit into his shoulder. Mortis pushed the Masamune blade out of his shoulder and brought the Zantetsuken around for a swinging blow. Sephiroth ducked under the demonic blade with a proficiency that was not known to any man and then swung again for Mortis's head. Mortis was able to correct his swing and was able to block the blow with the Zantetsuken. Sephiroth pressed with all of his might against the demonic blade, and Mortis pushed back against the silver haired warrior. The two blades protested the amounts of pressure that they were under with metallic grunts that fell upon the deaf ears of their users.

As they had their face off, Locke got to Loran and picked her up to carry her to where Bakusa was. When he placed her down on the ground, the light from a nearby torch showed the level of damage. The color had faded from her face, leaving a pale thin resemblance of her former color. Her eyes seemed to be bulging out in their deep purple sockets as they frantically scanned the area focusing on nothing. Her breathing was erratic and she continued to convulse. Locke focused on the wound on her abdomen and saw that the flesh seemed to be rotting. He quickly focused on his Restore Materia, and sent wave after wave of mastered Cure spells into her. The wound slowly healed, but her color was still not returning. Locke did not know what to do, so he frantically looked up and caught the final moments of the battle.

Sephiroth and Mortis continued to push their blades against each other, each showing signs that the struggle was wearing out their endurance. Mortis let a strained smile come across his face, and he spit out a comment at Sephiroth.

"You can't possibly win, boy. Surely you must see that." Sephiroth only locked gazes with Mortis and briefly let a flicker of a smirk cross his lips before he made his move. With a last push of strength, he pushed Mortis back slightly and then fell to a crouched stance. From there, he unleashed a massive Fire Materia blast into Mortis's abdomen, which sent him stumbling back in his weakened state. Before Mortis could recover, Sephiroth lunged forward and pierced Mortis's chest with the blade of the Masamune. Mortis took in a deep breath of shock as the cold steel blade skewered his entire body. Sephiroth smirked as he saw the look of utter defeat in Mortis's eyes.

"What was that?" Sephiroth said sarcastically before he used his full strength to push the Masamune blade through Mortis's upper torso, splitting him in nearly two pieces. Mortis fell back and stumbled onto the platform that held the machine's controls. He tried to speak, but only coughs of blood came sputtering out. As he fell onto the metal grating of the platform, the black flames again consumed him, but this time they faded away and revealed a bloody mess that used to be Mortis. The Materia in his eye was now a dull red, and it shattered in his skull as he fell back for good against the grating. Sephiroth let out a sigh of relief before he ran to where the others were at.

Locke was frantically trying to use his Restore Materia on Loran, but he stopped when Sephiroth kneeled down beside her and quickly looked at her condition. Locke was breathing frantically, and shook his head in frustration.

"I've used Cure on her more times than I can count, but she isn't getting any better!" Sephiroth did not respond, but instead removed his Restore Materia and replaced it with his Revive Materia. He lightly placed his gloved hand on her abdomen and then focused on his Materia. Soon blue soothing pulses of energy flowed out from his hand and coursed through Loran's body. For a moment, it seemed as if the Materia was doing nothing, but Loran sharply opened her eyes and took in a deep lung burning breath. After she had breathed in quickly, she laid back down and lightly smiled.

"Did we win?" she asked weakly. Sephiroth lightly nodded and then looked at Bakusa, who was now flexing the fingers in his right hand.

"You all right?" Sephiroth asked. Bakusa made a fist with his right hand, and then nodded. Sephiroth then stood and gave his squad a nod.

"All right. Let's get out of here and see how the battle outside is going." Locke helped Loran up, and though her color was now returning, she was still rather weak. But just as they were about to leave, the sudden alarm klaxon from the machinery sounded. Sephiroth turned around just in time to see the emaciated body of Mortis slide off of the control panel. Mortis gave one final grin, exposing his broken and blood drenched teeth before he slumped over for the final time.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: I know this update was due yesterday, but internet issues delayed it until now. Though this is the final chapter, there is an epilogue that I'll be posting at the same time since its not a stand alone chapter.

* * *

Chapter XXVI

As the final clutching ounce of Mortis's life passed onto the Lifestream, the maniacal machination that was pressed along the far wall of the chamber began to stir with life. Buzzers and lights turned on and off as the machine started to function on its programmed path. Sephiroth ran over to the control station and frantically looked for an abort button, but found none.

The machine released a long stream of hydraulic steam with a hiss as a large circular ring began to lower over the purple Huge Materia. Sephiroth sneered as he again searched the control board for a solution, all the while the ring continued to descend. Once the ring reached the bottom, it began to emit a loud high pitched squeal as a thousand small lasers began to power up. Sephiroth did not know what the Weapon was capable of, but he would rather not find out. In frustration, he smashed the control panel with his fist, sending broken buttons flying in all directions, but the machine continued on performing its duty.

With a bright flash of light, the lasers began to fire into the Huge Materia, creating a deep green fog to be formed inside the chamber. Sephiroth had to shield his eyes as the inside of the cylindrical chamber glowed like a Mako reactor. The fog was then pumped out of the chamber through a large conduit at the top of the cylinder and was then passed through a machine that was connected by thousands of wires to the large stone form of the Dragon. The ring of lasers began to rise, consuming the Materia as it went, leaving nothing in its wake. Before Sephiroth could think of doing anything else, the crystal was totally gone. The form of the sleeping Dragon began to pulse with shocks of color, revealing its many colored scales that before were just designs in the stone.

Sephiroth sneered and then saw that the second ring in the remaining cylinder was beginning to descend. Throwing all caution towards the wind, Sephiroth prepared the Masamune and swung with all of his might against the remaining cylinder. The glass shattered and pelted the machine with a million shards and the now broken laser ring fell to the ground, but was still powering up its lasers. Sephiroth grabbed the remaining yellow Huge Materia and ran towards the others just as the lasers became active and fired into the massive machine, creating sparks and soon a massive fire broke out.

Sephiroth handed the Huge Materia to Bakusa and then looked back at the Weapon that was now being covered with more and more pulses of energy that followed one another with a quickening pace.

"Locke, get Loran and Bakusa out of here now," Sephiroth said as he focused on the Ryuujin that was now beginning to stir slowly.

"What are you going to do?" Loran asked as Locke helped her up. Sephiroth took a step towards the awakening Dragon and briefly looked back with a smirk.

"See what this thing's made of."

Just then the massive hulking form of the Ryuujin pushed itself up onto its four legs, and stretched, sending the thousands of wire that were around it falling to the ground. The Ryuujin was nearly twenty meters tall with a large obsidian scale covered abdomen and four thick appendages, each covered in razor sharp talons. Its head was shaped like that of a dragon, with deep yellow piercing eyes. Sephiroth turned to the Dragon and readied his Masamune in his left hand and looked over it before he charged forward. Locke quickly supported Loran's weight and hurried the three of them out of the chamber and back towards the surface. No matter how much they might have wanted to see the fight, they knew that it was no place to be, nor did they want to defy an order from their General.

Sephiroth charged forward, his Masamune ready to pierce the flesh of the Weapon, but the massive hulking form of the Dragon focused on the incoming attacker, and quickly swiped at him with it's right clawed paw, striking Sephiroth in his side. Sephiroth caught himself in midair and again projected himself towards the Dragon. The Ryuujin was ready for this assault, and again swiped with its right. Sephiroth easily leaped over the attack and then dodged the left paw as it came flying from the other direction. Sephiroth swung the Masamune at the torso of the Dragon, but the blade only made a deep cut into the Dragon's armor scales.

The Weapon reeled back after his attack and then swung its massive spiked tail at Sephiroth. He was not able to avoid the tail as it came crashing towards him, so the tail hit him hard and carried him all the way to the far wall, crashing him against the rocks. The Ryuujin pulled its tail away and then lunged forward to tear Sephiroth apart with it's sharp dagger like fangs. Sephiroth was ready to plunge the Masamune into the throat of the Dragon, but the massive machine in the corner of the chamber ignited into a searing fireball. The explosion struck the Ryuujin on its flank pushing it off balance.

Sephiroth used the moment to get away from the wall that he had his back pinned to and readied to attack the monster again. The Ryuujin righted itself and roared at Sephiroth before it built up a fire blast from its throat. The Dragon launched the fireball at Sephiroth, but he merely cut it away with the blade of the Masamune and continued to charge towards the massive hulking best.

The Dragon then quickly slashed Sephiroth with both of its forearms, flicking the deadly talons at the silver haired attacker. Sephiroth blocked each of the talons with quick swings and parries from the Masamune. In an instant that the Dragon left itself open for an attack, Sephiroth quickly swung down on its right paw, severing it at the wrist and spewing green blood out onto the rock floor.

The Dragon roared in anguish and swung its tail at Sephiroth with blinding speed. Sephiroth saw it coming this time, and jumped just as it was about to connect. Quickly Sephiroth twirled his blade and caught the tip of the Dragon's tail, removing the spear like tip and spilling green blood onto the floor. The Ryuujin tried to kick out with its hind legs at Sephiroth, but he merely jumped back and readied himself for another attack.

With the injuries that the Ryuujin had sustained, it then reared back onto its hind legs and began to charge it's most powerful attack, an energy blast that contained the very power of the Planet. Sephiroth knew that he could not let the Dragon unleash this attack; otherwise the inferno unleashed would surely kill him. He charged forward but the Ryuujin knocked him back when a massive wing came away from it's tight hold on the Dragon's abdomen and hit him squarely, sending him flying away. Sephiroth hit the ground, but quickly got back onto his feet and watched the two massive wings of the Dragon billow out. The inside of the wings was a strange green-purple hybrid that shimmered in the burning light of the torches and remnants of the machinery. Sephiroth could now see the massive form of energy that was culminating in the Dragon's wide open jaws; the bright green embers were quickly concentrating and forming a massive ball inside its gaping maw.

Sephiroth quickly formed a fireball and launched it at the Dragon, but the blast only absorbed into the armor of the Dragon. Sephiroth let out a curse as he firmed his grip on the Masamune and charged in again. The Dragon saw him coming, and knew that the Mega-Blast was not ready. Before Sephiroth could reach the Dragon, it launched itself upwards and blasted its way straight through the mountain. Sephiroth acted quickly, and grabbed onto one of the spikes of the tail and held on with all of his strength as the Ryuujin continued to break through the mountain and then burst into the open air.

On the ground surrounding the Hitoyama Mountain, the two armies continued to fight, but they both paused when the massive form of the Ryuujin with it's wings spread wide erupted out of the mountain. Locke, Loran, and Bakusa had just emerged from the mountain's entrance when the Dragon burst forward, sending large chunks of the mountain raining down on them. Through the dust, they could see Sephiroth hanging onto the Dragon's tail, still clutching the Masamune in his left hand. Both sides of the conflict erupted in cheers, each for their own reasons.

Sephiroth grunted as he tried to pull himself up with his right hand, but the speed at which the Ryuujin was flying made it difficult. Through the blistering wind, Sephiroth could see that the massive ball of earth-rendering energy was growing larger and larger by the moment. Suddenly, as quickly as it had started, the Ryuujin stopped in mid air, and now aimed the Mega-Blast down at the surface.

Down below, the cheering from both sides stopped as the massive form of the green energy blast became so bright that it lit the ground with a green hue. Several of the Brotherhood ninjas gulped in fear, and dropped their weapons and ran to get as far away as they could; several of the SOLDIERs joined them.

When the Ryuujin stopped in mid air, Sephiroth had enough time to catch his breath and knew what he had to do. As he watched the massive Mega-Blast being prepared for launch, he reached deep into himself to find the strength he needed to end this here and now. At first, it seemed as if his entire reserve of strength had been depleted, but in that singular moment, everything around him went to black, only leaving himself and the Ryuujin. He could not hear anything except for the rhythmic beating of his own heart. Suddenly his body was rejuvenated with a level of strength that he had not known that he possessed, and in a sudden move of action, he launched himself at the massive Mega-Blast.

From the foot of the Hitoyama Mountain, Loran, Locke, and Bakusa looked up and shielded their eyes from the bright light as they tried to focus on their leader. In a blinding instant, they saw their leader hurl himself towards the head of the Dragon just as the Ryuujin released the Mega-Blast. Suddenly the sky was filled with a terrific blinding light that washed out everything. They all had to close their eyes tightly to keep the flash from rendering them blind for the rest of their days. The blast gave off a tremendous level of heat that washed over them, making them cry out in pain from the searing explosion. Soon the devastatingly loud rumble from the blast reached their ears, shaking the very earth to the core. Slowly, the blazing light and the heat began to dissipate, and they opened their eyes to see the aftermath.

The ground was covered in a layer of soot, and then trees were all bent away from the epicenter of the blast. Loran looked up into the sky and saw a large remnant of smoldering embers where the Ryuujin had been. Ashes and larger flaming debris from the Dragon began to fall towards the ground in a silent display of acrid black rain. Loran scanned the skies looking for Sephiroth, but she could hardly make anything out in the dense haze. Bakusa pointed up with his good hand and shouted out loud when he spotted something gracefully falling from the sky.

"Look! I think it's him!" The three all looked at the falling figure, and could see that it was Sephiroth. In the air, he was falling with his arms loosely held at his sides, feeling the air caress his battle weary body. When he hit the ground, he instantly fell into a crouch, but lifted himself up and rubbed the soot from his face with his right hand. His three squad mates ran up to him and marveled at what he had just accomplished. Sephiroth lightly smirked, and then looked up into the sky as the burning debris began to rain down all over the continent of Wutai. When Sephiroth looked back down and scanned the battlefield, those remaining Brotherhood ninjas all dropped the fight and ran into the woods.

Colonel Garson ran up to Sephiroth and gave him a salute. "General, sir, the Brotherhood is in retreat." Sephiroth lightly nodded and then looked around at all of the faces of the surviving SOLDIERs as they all looked on him with a sense of awe and wonder. Sephiroth focused on Garson and gave his orders.

"Have your men round up the remaining Brotherhood members and then report back to the beachhead." Garson saluted and then went about issuing the orders to the men, who then hurried along to get their jobs done. Sephiroth then looked to his squad and lightly nodded.

"Come on. We need to get back to the beach and prepare for the drive north." Bakusa let out a sarcastic sigh and shook his head.

"Oh man, can't we take a break for once?" Sephiroth let out a humph as he continued to walk in the direction of the beach.

"Just because I destroyed a giant dragon doesn't mean that Wutai will give up in this war. And besides, where would the fun be in waiting?" Bakusa let his shoulders fall in surrender and shook his head. Locke patted Bakusa on the back and shrugged his shoulders as they started to follow their leader.

"Look on the bright side, you'll get to meet plenty of babes from Wutai. I'm sure one of them might find you appealing." Bakusa glared at Locke, who then could no longer hold back his laughter and soon Loran joined in, though her laughter was restrained due to the lingering effects of her injury. Even Sephiroth lightly laughed, though he was too far ahead of the others for them to notice.

As they walked along the path towards the beach, they passed MPs carrying medical gurneys with the wounded back to the field hospital that was set up on the beach; Loran refused to take one since she was able to walk, though rather slowly and with a noticeable limp. Bakusa placed his hands behind his head, and looked up into the sky as the debris was still falling. It was then that he saw something strange drifting down from the sky. He caught it in his hand and looked at it quizzically. It was a long black feather that seemed to be unharmed from the explosion. Bakusa looked up again and saw that there were hundreds of them falling down from the sky. He scratched his head, and dropped the feather as he wondered out loud: "I don't remember that dragon having feathers…"


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue

High in the Nibel Mountains, a strange caravan of Shinra MPs were escorting a lone figure wearing a white lab coat. When they reached the Mako reactor, the scientist told his armed guards to wait outside for him.

Professor Hojo entered the inner chamber inside the Nibel reactor and punched in the access code on the keypad to close the door behind him. The sound of the constant pumping of the machines filled the room with ambient noise. Hojo pushed his glasses further up his nose and sneered his upper lip at the stench of the Mako. Though he knew that the substance was responsible for many of his creations, he still did not care for its smell.

He began to make his way up the stairs, passing the platforms that held the pods of his failed experiments; experiments that tested the very limits of the human body and its reaction to Mako. Though they served their purpose, he did not care whether these specimens lived or died. To him, it was but the nature of science that only mattered. The only thing here that he truly cared for was his most prized possession; Jenova. When he reached the sealed access hatch that led into her chamber, he gently pressed in the code to open the door.

When the door slid open with a smooth operation of the hydraulics, he sauntered in and ascended the platform that led up to his prized possession. In front of him at the top of the platform was the large distribution sarcophagus that harvested and distributed the cells that were so precious to his research. On a small keypad on the sarcophagus's exterior, he entered the code to lift the sarcophagus and hit the enter command. Slowly, the sarcophagus began to lift out of the way.

As it lifted, Hojo looked down into the pit below, at the festering raw Mako that churned from beneath the Planet's surface. As he watched the rhythmic fluid dance, he reflected on the news that he had read in the Nibel Gazette.

Sephiroth had just led the successful attack on Wutai City, and had made the Wutainese surrender unconditionally to Shinra. As interesting as that news was, he found that the rumors from returning soldiers that said Sephiroth had defeated a giant dragon were much more interesting. Indeed Sephiroth's strength had grown far greater than he had ever imagined was possible. Perhaps, Hojo thought, his strength could grow even greater if he knew were it came from. Hojo smiled at the prospect of revealing Sephiroth's origins to the headstrong SOLDIER. Could he handle the news? Of course, Hojo thought, after all, the strength of Jenova flowed through his veins. Hojo let out a crackling chuckle as he removed his glasses to polish the lenses on his lab coat.

As he polished his glasses, his mind drifted to what he read in the rest of the article. It did not mention any other names specifically, but it did say that a female member of Sephiroth's squad was severely injured in the conflict. Hojo knew exactly who that was, and as he thought about her, a slight sneer came across his face. That girl, whatever her name was, could be a potential problem to his new theory concerning Sephiroth's strength. Normally, Sephiroth had always chosen to be alone, but there was something different about this girl. Hojo finished polishing his glasses, but instead of putting them on, he tapped the earpiece on his chin as he thought. Obviously this nuisance of a girl has to be taken out of the equation. Hojo let a wicked smirk cross his face as he thought of utilizing this injury of hers to make her unfit for duty and to kick her out of the Program. Hojo let out a light chuckle as he thought about using his scientific know-how to convince Heidegger to discharge her, after all, Heidegger was a simpleton.

As he continued to chuckle to himself, he looked up to see the form of his most prized possession in her stasis tube. What he saw through his blurry vision gave him a start, and he quickly fumbled to place his glasses on again. When he was able to fully focus on the remains of Jenova, he was shocked at what he saw.

When he and Gast had first discovered her, locked away in the 2000-year-old geological stratum, her body was a dark lifeless shade of gray, and her eye was as blank as a bottomless hole. But now, her skin was a shimmering shade of purple and her one remaining eye was a fire with a deep red. Hojo leaned in closer and raised an eyebrow at this new turn of events. How could this be? Why had this never happened before?

But of course! Hojo came to the conclusion instantly, and let out another dry laugh as he realized what was happening to his prized specimen. Hojo turned to leave the chamber, but at the door he had to turn around once more for another look. His greasy face appeared to be quite strange with the wide grin that he now had, and he chuckled to himself in sheer ecstasy as he entered the code to close the chamber and return the distribution sarcophagus to its normal position.

"Ah, indeed Hojo, you are a genius!" he said aloud as he began to slowly walk down the stairs towards the main entry of the reactor. "Not only have you succeeded in creating a living specimen with the cells of one long dead, but you've succeeded in bringing new life to Jenova!"

Hojo did not need an explanation to understand what it was that was happening to his prized specimen. As Sephiroth became stronger, and utilized his Jenova Cells more, Jenova was being rejuvenated. Hojo stopped dead in his tracks as a thought entered his mind. Perhaps the time is now right for Sephiroth to learn who he truly is.

Hojo let a maniacal grin cross his face as he walked down one of the platforms and quickly scanned the systems of controls and conduits that intertwined with the entire reactor network. Hojo lightly opened a fuse panel and ripped out several of the fuses. As he replaced the control cover, he chuckled to himself and began to leave the reactor. He knew that the damage he caused would not show up for some time, and would then only leak small traces of Mako into the atmosphere. It would then mutate local fiends, creating a nuisance that would have to be dealt with. Hojo would then use his influence to get Sephiroth sent here, and then he would learn the truth to what he is!

As Hojo left the reactor, he erupted into a fit of laughter, making the Shinra MPs that he was with raise an eyebrow at each other as they wondered about the scientist's sanity. Hojo then began to take the path off of the mountain, where he was going to return to the mansion to look over his old research files and marvel at what he had created.

A/N: And there you have it, the end of my first Final Fantasy VII Fanfiction! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and if you did, leave a review saying so! I've vaguely been toying with the idea of a sequel, but I'm still not a 100 sold on the idea. If you'd be interested in readin one, let me know.


End file.
